Craiglist chief demands apology from McMaster

Jim Buckmaster, chief executive of Craiglist, demanded an apology from South Carolina attorney general Henry McMaster Monday after he announced plans to move forward with a lawsuit against the online classifieds Web site. The reason of the conflict was a refusal of Craigslist to remove “erotic services” from the South Carolina portion of its site in spite of the threat of McMaster to sue Craigslist within 10 days. McMaster announced that it had no alternative but to move forward with criminal investigation and potential prosecution. In return, Craigslist stopped accepting new "erotic services" posts last Wednesday, but insisted current posts would remain on the site until they expired after 7 days. It is noticeable that there are also "adult entertainment" sections on the Greenville classifieds Web site, the Charleston Post and Courier, Microsoft's Live.com, and yellowpages.com – all of them currently contain more adult advertisements targeting South Carolina residents than Craigslist. Despite of McMaster’s intention, it is advised to "reconsider and retract its remarks, and positively affirm that it have no intention of launching criminal investigations aimed at any of these upstanding companies, because in truth none of them are deserving of such treatment." McMaster was one of several attorneys general to voice his concern about the "erotic services" section after a young man dubbed the "Craigslist killer" was arrested for allegedly murdering a girl he met through the site. Those attorneys general, however, – including Illinois AG Lisa Madigan, Connecticut AG Richard Blumenthal, and Missouri AG Chris Koster – promised to continue monitoring Craigslist, but praised the site for its action.