Staff Report
Published May 5, 2009

Craigslist.org has 10 days to remove portions of its site that deal with the solicitation of prostitution and the posting of pornographic material in South Carolina, Attorney General Henry McMaster said today.

“If those South Carolina portions of the site are not removed,” McMaster said, “the management of Craigslist may be subject to criminal investigation and prosecution.”

In November, Craigslist entered into an agreement with 40 state attorneys general and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to enact safeguards to combat unlawful activity and improve public safety on the Internet classifieds service.

Recent national events, along with ongoing law enforcement efforts in South Carolina, clearly indicate that Craigslist has not put in place sufficient safeguards to prohibit the Internet site from being used as a vehicle to advertise or solicit prostitution and to post graphic pornographic pictures accessible to minors, McMaster said.