Craigslist says it has sued South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster in an attempt to resolve threats he’s made of criminal prosecution for adult services found on the popular website for classified ads. A post on the website’s blog says its practices are in full compliance with the law. A spokeswoman for the company says that it has no other comment at this time.
CEO Jim Buckmaster had agreed to concessions last week after lengthy negotiations with three other attorneys general, but McMaster said it wasn’t enough and continued to call on the popular classifieds site to remove all user-generated ads that offered adult services.
Though it seems that the Craigslist website continues to offer ads for adult services, McMaster oddly claimed victory on Wednesday. At the same time, he seemed to be backing away from his threats of prosecution.
“We trust they will now adhere to the higher standards they have promised,” McMaster said in a statement. “This office and the law enforcement agencies of South Carolina will continue to monitor the site to make certain that our laws are respected.”
Earlier this week, Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster called on McMaster to apologize for targeting the site when other sites offer personal services, including mainstream media like The Post and Courier.
“Have you fully considered the implications of your accusations against Craigslist?” Buckmaster wrote. “What’s a crime for Craigslist is clearly a crime for any company.”
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