In South Carolina there is a battle brewing…no I’m not talking about the one between our governor (Mark Sanford) and the state regarding the use of economic stimulus money. I’m taking about a newer rumble between South Carolina’s Attorney General and the eponymous web site craigslist. For those that haven’t heard the attorney general wanted to sue craigslist for having prostitution ads on its site. McMaster cited his reasoning for the lawsuit as one of concern about the volume of prostitution ads on the site and that the area was a breeding ground for sex services involving minors and sex slaves.
McMaster commented on the case, “It is the vehicle of choice for prostitution in this country. They have been notified emphatically that those were prostitution ads.”
Craigslist however, is not taking the suit lying down; it has launched a suit as well against McMaster and other state solicitors asking a federal court to issue a restraining order to prevent them from pursuing criminal charges against the website.
Craigslist has attempted to appease critics by agreeing to replace the erotic section with a new adult section. The web site also agreed to review ads before posting to make sure they abide by craigslist terms of service.
The question I wish to explore here is should web sites like craigslist be held liable for the content posted on their sites? The Communication Decency Act gives web sites legal protection by keeping them from being held legally responsible for the actions of its users. I believe that craigslist has met its obligations to users by abiding by The Communication Decency Act. To me they really went above and beyond by agreeing to replace the site’s erotic section along with the review of posted ads. What do you think? Should web sites be held to a higher standard for its content in the interest of public safety?
