Looks Like Henry McMaster Is Upset About His Lost Craigslist Photo Op As Well

from the oh-come-on... dept

Yesterday, Craigslist caved in to the demands of various state Attorneys General, and agreed to pre-moderate all of the "adult" ads that go on their site. This appeared to be exactly what many grandstanding AGs had been asking for... but it appears that more than a few of them were upset that Craigslist did this without granting the AGs a chance to take credit for it. First, we had NY AG Andrew Cuomo's petulent statement about how Craigslist never should have done this without first getting approval from Andrew Cuomo, and now the EFF points out a similar complaint from South Carolina AG Henry McMaster, who says that he's going to continue his plan to throw Craigslist management in jail unless they remove all sexually explicit material from the site.

It's difficult to know where to start on this, but McMaster's understanding of the law doesn't seem to have anything to do with the actual law. First off, plenty of sexually explicit material is not illegal. Second, even if the material is somehow illegal, the liability is on those who posted it, not Craigslist.

Oh yeah. It's probably worth noting that a similarity between both Cuomo and McMaster? Both are apparently (definitely in McMaster's case) seeking their respective state's governorship... You would think that abusing a high-level gov't position for grandstanding and censorship would disqualify one from getting to run a state, but apparently not.

Filed Under: andrew cuomo, attorney general, grandstanding, henry mcmaster, south carolina
Companies: craigslist

Andrew Cuomo Angry That Craigslist Stole His Photo Op

from the wow dept

This morning we posted the news about Craigslist giving in to angry Attorneys General who were misguided in their anger. In it, we discussed how this was a larger version of NY AG Andrew Cuomo's tactics to force internet companies to censor, despite no legal basis. However, it looks like Andrew Cuomo is pissed that others have taken his tactics and didn't give him a chance to be involved. Thomas O'Toole alerts us to this stunning statement from Cuomo who appears to be quite angry that this decision was made without him present:

"Several weeks ago, we informed Craigslist of an impending criminal case that implicated its website. Rather than work with this office to prevent further abuses, in the middle of the night, Craigslist took unilateral action which we suspect will prove to be half-baked."

O'Toole's summary is dead on: "Curses, you stole my photo op!" So when we wrote the original post wondering how soon it would be before AGs were upset with the new plan, we knew something like this would happen eventually. We just didn't think it would be a matter of hours.

Filed Under: andrew cuomo, new york, photo op, prostitution
Companies: craigslist

Craigslist Gives In To Misplaced AG Anger... Again

from the what-are-you-going-to-do... dept

Back in November, a bunch of Attorneys General forced Craiglsist to change how it managed its "erotic services" category. The whole campaign by these AGs to blame Craigslist for the fact that prostitutes used the service was aimed at the wrong target -- smart law enforcement officials recognized that they could use Craigslist as a tool to fight prostitution. And, of course, the original changes to Craigslist did little if anything to stop prostitution. Instead, they just made that prostitution move elsewhere, making it more difficult for law enforcement to track it down and deal with it. It's difficult to see how that's smart policy.

Yet, even with the changes -- which required those posting to the erotic services category to use a credit card (and pay $5) to prove their identity -- some prostitution ads were getting through. Once again, though, this should have been seen as great news for law enforcement. That's because now it was even easier to track down those involved in prostitution. So what happened? You guessed it. The AGs continued to freak out and insist that Craigslist was somehow to blame, even threatening to put Craigslist execs into jail. Yes, seriously.

Given all of this, it's disappointing, though hardly surprising, that Craigslist has caved in and agreed that it will now have people on staff preview every ad in the erotic services category to make sure it's "okay." Also, according to at least one report, the new "adult services" (rather than "erotic services") group will cost advertisers $10 instead of $5 -- and unlike the in original agreement, this time the money apparently may not go to charity. There really is absolutely no legal basis for this move. The AGs would have had no case (hello Section 230!), but given the public pressure from the AGs and the fact that Craigslist probably was getting sick of answering this question, it gave in.

Of course, it's difficult to see how this ends well. Prostitution will continue. It will just move to other websites, where it will be that much more difficult for law enforcement to track it and respond to it. This move will also -- unfortunately -- empower AGs to once again abuse their public platform to pressure companies into doing things with absolutely no legal basis whatsoever. We saw it last year with Andrew Cuomo forcing ISPs to drop Usenet, and now that more AGs are learning how this process works, expect to see more de facto gov't censorship, as various AGs use the press and bogus threats to pressure websites into shutting down or changing sites.

And, of course, given that it only took six months for the AGs to demand even more from Craigslist, how much do people want to bet that it won't be all that long until those same AGs start complaining about Craigslist yet again? Especially now that Craigslist has agreed to have employees review every ad in that section, they'll probably start blaming Craigslist if any questionable ads get through. Even though Section 230 (again) has said that moderating content doesn't increase liability, since those AGs have been ignoring Section 230 all along anyway, you can bet they'll ignore it again, and suggest Craigslist is even more liable, even though they were the ones who forced Craigslist to make this change in the first place.

Filed Under: adult services, attorneys general, erotice services, section 230
Companies: craigslist

South Carolina Wants To Put Craigslist Management In Jail?

from the craig-doesn't-strike-me-as-the-jailhouse-type... dept

In the latest in an increasingly long line of misplaced attacks on Craigslist, South Carolina's Attorney General Henry McMaster is now threatening the company's principals with criminal charges because of how some folks have used the site. Someone should send McMaster a copy of section 230 of the CDA. You would think that a state Attorney General might... you know... know the law, before threatening to put people in jail. McMaster, of course, is running for governor of the state, so he likely sees this as a grandstanding opportunity -- just like he recently massively overhyped the risks of online predators. Someone else submitted the fact that McMaster also was so upset that a study that he (and most other state AGs) requested on the risks of online predators showed that the risks were greatly overstated that, rather than admit he was wrong, he withdrew from the workgroup studying the issue. This does not appear to be a fact-based individual. When presented with evidence, he simply says it can't be true.

In this case, he's accusing Craigslist of being involved with prostitution, even though plenty of other (smarter) law enforcement officials have recognized that Craigslist is actually a useful tool in fighting prostitution, rather than a problem. He also claims that Craigslist management may be criminally liable due to "sexually explicit" photos hosted on the site. Except... as the link above points out, as long as the content isn't "obscene" (and McMaster presents no evidence that it is), then it's perfectly legal, and protected by the First Amendment. The whole thing stinks of a politician grandstanding by displaying his own ignorance of both technology and the law... all while running for governor.

Filed Under: blame, henry mcmaster, prostitution, section 230, south carolina
Companies: craigslist

Law Enforcement In Iowa Recognizes Craigslist Is A Tool, Not A Problem

from the good-for-them dept

While officials in neighboring Illinois are suing Craigslist for prostitution, it appears that law enforcement officials in Iowa know better. Brent writes in to note that police in Iowa have been using Craigslist as a tool to help crack down on prostitution. Of course, that doesn't make for headlines nearly as big as just blaming Craigslist...

Filed Under: iowa, prostitution
Companies: craigslist

Move Over, Craigslist: Twitter Gets Prostitution Ads

from the didn't-see-this-coming dept

Craigslist has been catching a lot of flack, but Twitter might be next in line for the blame game. A British tabloid discovered that a brothel in England was using the site to advertise its services, and got a quote from a member of parliament labeling it "cynical and inappropriate". It's hard to imagine that this is the only business of its sort using Twitter to stay in touch with its customers, and it just goes to show that whatever media emerge -- from printed flyers to web sites to social-networking sites -- they'll be used to promote any sort of business, including sex-based ones. The brothel's response to the newspaper article is pretty amusing, though: a Twitter coupon, using the paper's name as the discount code. In the meantime, expect to see law enforcement officials start attacking Twitter for "enabling prostitution" in 3... 2... 1....

Filed Under: moral panic, prostitutes
Companies: craigslist, twitter

Attorneys General Ramp Up Misguided Attacks On Craigslist

from the it-ain't-the-tool dept

This should come as no surprise at all, but following the mad rush to blame Craigslist for the fact that a psychopath used the site to find women to murder, various Attorneys General are falsely trying to pin some blame on Craigslist and get it to take actions that won't help at all. Both Illinois' Attorney General and Connecticut's Attorney General (who has a history of wrongly blaming Craigslist) are calling for the site to shutter the "erotic services" section.

If you don't think too much, you can see why people might think this makes sense. After all, some of the services being offered on those sites are illegal. But does that mean that those actions stop once Craigslist stops accepting those ads? Of course not. As we saw last year when Craigslist was pressured into restricting that section, those who are in the market for erotic services simply move elsewhere, and in scattering them around, it actually makes it that much more difficult for law enforcement to monitor the activity and stop it from happening. We've pointed to a few examples of police actively using Craigslist as a tool to track down lawbreakers. It's hard to understand why these Attorneys General are trying to take that tool away from the police. Craigslist cooperates with law enforcement, and gives law enforcement an easy way to track and deal with illegal activity. Shutting down parts of Craigslist doesn't help. It doesn't stop the illegal activity -- it just makes it that much harder to track and stop.

Filed Under: attorneys general, blame, richard blumenthal
Companies: craigslist

It Had To Happen: Blame Craigslist Gang Comes Out

from the learn-to-differentiate... dept

You knew it was going to happen. Following the stories about the guy in Boston who was allegedly killing women he found via Craigslist (leading some to refer to him as "the Craigslist killer," eventually people were going to start incorrectly suggesting that Craigslist deserves some of the blame. Mark sends in the news that Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has stepped up to the challenge. While she starts off by noting how helpful Craigslist can be in tracking down criminals, she quickly changes tone and suggests the company may be a part of the problem:

"I can't say they haven't been helpful. On the other hand, they are the enablers. It's all well and good to say we'll help when we're called upon . . . but in light of what's happened in Boston and around the country, it may be time for a little closer look or oversight."

Of course, that makes no sense. Crimes of this nature have gone on for ages. In fact, the details sound quite similar to the famous Jack the Ripper story. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Jack didn't use Craigslist, did he? Nor did anyone think to blame the street corners where Jack the Ripper found the prostitutes he murdered. So why are we suddenly blaming the digital equivalent?

Filed Under: blame, boston, martha coakley
Companies: craigslist

97 Of The Top 100 Online Classified Sites Are Craigslist

from the holy-domination dept

Well here's a little nugget of information that show you just how dominant Craigslist has become in the online classifieds space. A new report suggests that 97 of the top 100 online classified sites are localized versions of Craigslist (i.e., dallas.craigslist.org, sfbay.craigslist.org, etc.). Not sure who the other three are, or where they fall on the chart... but (once again) it shows how the 10 lines of code fallacy comes into play. Over the years, plenty of people have brushed aside Craigslist as not being very pretty or complex -- and noting that it would be easy to copy. But, the value of Craigslist isn't in the code (though, these days, having robust and scalable code is a big deal considering the traffic) but in the users. And you can't just copy that with 10 lines of code.

Filed Under: online classifieds
Companies: craigslist

Imitate Someone On Craigslist, Get Arrested For Identity Fraud

from the just-a-warning... dept

A bunch of folks have been sending in the news of a woman who, after a fight with her boyfriend, posted a note on Craigslist posing as him, asking men to call his office number and "talk dirty." She's now been charged with a felony for identity fraud. At least (unlike some) no one's blaming Craigslist for this one...

Filed Under: identity fraud
Companies: craigslist