McMaster on Craigslist: moving forward on investigation and potential prosecution

Raymond Owens
Published: May 16, 2009

Attorney General Henry McMaster’s office is moving forward with a criminal investigation and potential prosecution. The deadline McMaster set to have illegal content removed from the SC portion of Craigslist ended at 5PM Friday.

News 2 first brought you this story May the 5th. McMaster later announced at a press conference in Anderson that day that he was giving Craigslist 10 days to remove illegal content from their website, or face an investigation and possible prosecution.

Then, earlier this week, Craigslist announced changes to their erotic services policy. You can read that blog here… http://blog.craigslist.org/2009/05/striking-a-new-balance/
One change they agreed to was to remove some content within 7 days, which means those posts will remain on the site until some time next week.

Today, Craiglist posted another response to the news that a criminal investigation/potential prosecution is moving forward… http://blog.craigslist.org/2009/05/target-practice/
They mention other South Carolina venues where they say similar content can be found, but no investigation has been announced.

Below is the full statement McMaster’s office released to News 2….

ADVISORY: McMaster Statement On Craigslist
Columbia, S.C. May 15, 2009 - “As of 5:00 p.m. this afternoon, the craigslist South Carolina site continues to display advertisements for prostitution and graphic pornographic material. This content was not removed as we requested. We have no alternative but to move forward with criminal investigation and potential prosecution.“

It should also be noted that McMaster is being discussed as a potential candidate for Governor of South Carolina in 2010.

Here is a link to our original story, when we broke this story a couple of hours prior to McMaster’s press conference on May 5th. This includes video from press conference, as well as links to other papers related to this story… http://www.counton2.com/cbd/news/local/article/mcmaster_set_to_make_major_announcement_about_craigslist/24434/

Reader Reactions

Voice your opinion by posting a comment.

Flag Comment Posted by Greg Collier on May 16, 2009 at 10:44 am

Hat’s off to Craigslist for taking a step in the right direction by removing the “erotic services” section off of their site. I, along with the legal authorities, parents and other online classified site owners, appreciate them doing, well, something. Upon their announcement of eliminating the “erotic services” section that has been linked to a variety of illegal activities, ranging from prostitution and smuggling, to theft and murder, Craigslist began doing everything they could think of to re-invent this criminal category. Immediately, “erotic services” became “adult services”, though I have yet to discern the difference. At this point a defiant teenager’s words are more sincere than those spouted by the Craigslist crew. Craigslist also stated that they would now be monitoring such “adult services” posts. Apparently they have devised a way to do so since their earlier complaint of this impossibility. I’d love to hear how. While Geebo manually monitors every post, in every category, every day, we know such a practice is feasible. However, we do not believe that even our detailed monitoring system can adequately protect the users of an “erotic” or “adult” category. For a company that has never been hands-on or concerned with the safety of their users, I cringe at what their interpretation of monitoring such a category may mean. I would like to believe that Craigslist’s decision to monitor and remove, cough-transform, their “erotic services” section came as an internal, company-wide epiphany of the need to protect the privacy and well-being of their users. For Geebo, such practice is common sense. With the pressures of police departments nationwide and court systems threatening to shut them down, I doubt this was Craigslist’s personal decision. The only change I can see from a quick glance at Craigslist’s disguised “erotic services” section is that it now costs more to post. What irony. Craigslist’s supposed fix-it actions are in direct conflict with what is found in the “adult services” section at this very moment. A new name does not equal a new result. Craigslist must be held accountable for their reckless conduct, irresponsible behavior and empty promises. Geebo willingly provides our users with safety, security and privacy when searching and responding to posts on our website. We don’t believe that a degree of protection is an unreasonable request of those entrusting us with their personal information and life. In fact, we gladly refuse to allow an “erotic” or “adult” services category to ensure user safety and comfort. Geebo is one of a kind, but in a situation such as this we wish our practice was everyone’s practice

Page 1 of 1

Post a Comment(Requires free registration)

Please avoid offensive, vulgar, or hateful language.
Respect others.
Use the "Flag Comment" link when necessary.
See the Terms and Conditions for details.

Click here to post a comment.

McMaster on Craigslist: moving forward on investigation and potential prosecution

Share This:

Reader Reactions

Post a Comment(Requires free registration)