Craigslist’s Troubles

The US-based classifieds web site has been facing a lot of controversy after South Carolina’s attorney general accused it for not having adequately removed “advertisements for prostitution and graphic pornographic material.” Looks like moral policing is not just a local affliction. However, the way Craigslist dealt with it is quite interesting. After having replaced its erotic section with a new adult category and then having company employees go over every new post in the section, the web site filed counter-charges against the attorney general. Besides, the premise is that a platform cannot be held directly responsible for the kind of content its users generate. Here too, we’ve had people filing suits against social networks for having content that they find objectionable. Craigslist claims the charges filed by the attorney general of South Carolina are flagrant, citing “In addition to being unwarranted by the facts, legal experts agree that the charges threatened represent an unconstitutional prior restraint on free speech, and are clearly barred by federal law”.

On a lighter note, a popular tech blog started a poll to find out “Which is more important to you – Craigslist or South Carolina?”. Surprisingly, the results favoured the web site rather than an entire state. 80 per cent of people the people (2278 votes) found that craigslist is more important in the grander scheme of things. The state had probably only one thing on its side – myrtle beach – a rather popular tourist destination.