Craigslist CEO Sues South Carolina AG

In a turn of events, Craigslist's CEO is suing South Carolina Attorney General, Henry McMaster, to seek relief from the legal threats that the SC AG has accused and threatened Craigslist of and continues to threaten Craigslist of.

McMaster gave Craigslist a 10 day deadline a couple weeks ago to remove portions of the site that allows prostitution ads to be posted. If those South Carolina portions of the site are not removed, McMaster said in a statement, the management of craigslist may be subject to criminal investigation and prosecution.

The CEO of Craigslist says that "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 (sec 230 CDA)." in its blog posting today.

Craigslist said that McMaster continues to threaten the company despite the fact that craigslist has fully been compliant with applicable laws, has eliminated its erotic services category for all US cities, and has adopted screening measures for people posting certain ads.

"Mr McMasters repeated threats of criminal prosecution should we refuse to shut down craigslist for South Carolina have left us little choice but to seek declaratory relief before the court." the CEO said on Craigslist blog.