Craigslist vs South Carolina Attorney General
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Grandstanding South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster threatened to prosecute Craigslist for its Adult Services section. Craigslist got a South Carolina judge to force McMaster to temporarily cease persecution.
Craigslist is also arguing that the Communications Decency Act, which prevents online publishers from being held liable for content posted by third parties, protects it from prosecution. This is a carryover from the old Common Carrier status that protected pre-Web services like CompUServe from over-hungry prosecuting attorneys when users uploaded porn.
Craigslist’s lawsuit cites an interview McMaster gave to Fox News on Monday, in which he likened the site “to a hotel or motel owner that knows prostitution is going on on their premises and fails to do anything about it especially after having been told.”
Judge shields Craigslist from prosecution in South Carolina
Can you imagine a motel that operates with the speed and volume of a popular website?