Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster continues his counter-campaign against South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster by demanding an apology for threats of prosecution. McMaster wants to take legal action against the popular Craigslist Website, saying it posts graphic material.
Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster escalated
his conflict with South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, who has
threatened the popular community bulletin board Website with prosecution for
supposedly posting "graphic material."
In
response
to previous outcry, Craigslist promised to
remove its Erotic Services
category at some point during the week of May 18, substituting for it an Adult
Services section that will be reviewed by the site.
In a May 18 letter demanding an apology from McMaster,
Buckmaster
followed up on an earlier blog post by reiterating how tame Craigslist's South
Carolina adult postings were in comparison with
content available through other media.
"Our 'Adult Services' and soon-to-be-retired 'Erotic Services' sections
combined, for all cities in South Carolina,
currently feature a total of 40 ads, all of which comply with our terms of
use,"
Buckmaster wrote in his letter. "That's 40 ads out of a total
of 334,180 currently listed on our S.C. sites. The rest comprise a thriving
marketplace for South Carolinians, offering jobs, housing, for-sale items,
local services and just about everything else."
Buckmaster added, "We're willing to accept our share of criticism, but
wrongfully accusing Craigslist of criminal misconduct is simply beyond the
pale. We would very much appreciate an apology at your very earliest
convenience."
According to a statement on the South Carolina
attorney general's Website, "The Craigslist South Carolina site continues
to display advertisements for prostitution and graphic pornographic
material," and, "This content was not removed as we requested. We
have no alternative but to move forward with criminal investigation and
potential prosecution."
In his letter, Buckmaster cited AT&T, Microsoft, Village Voice Media and
"major newspapers and other upstanding South
Carolina businesses" as featuring adult services
ads.
"Have you fully considered the implications of your accusations against
Craigslist?" Buckmaster asked. "What's a crime for Craigslist is
clearly a crime for any company. Are you really prepared to condemn the
executives of each of the mainstream companies linked above, and all the others
that feature such ads, as criminals?"
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