Craigslist CEO asks for apology

Jim Buckmaster, CEO of classified ad business Craigslist, asked for an apology from South Carolina???s attorney general, who threatened to prosecute him because of sex ads on the site.

In a blog entry on Monday, Buckmaster said Henry McMaster???s threats of ???criminal investigation and potential prosecution??? were unwarranted and also unconstitutional.

McMaster, who is considering a possible run for governor in his state, made his threats against both Buckmaster and Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, as well as other employees of the San Francisco business. He said in a letter to Craigslist that the ads constituted prostitution and were therefore illegal.

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The threat followed complaints from several other state attorneys general about Craigslist???s ???erotic services??? section, where ads for ???sensual massage??? and other code phrases for sex were posted. A lot of attention was focused on Craigslist after a murder in the Boston area in which the alleged killer supposedly found his victim via a sex ad on the site.

Last week, Craigslist eliminated the ???erotic services??? category and replaced it with a more closely scrutinized ???adult services??? section, following pressure from Connecticut and other states. No ads can be posted in that category until they???ve been checked by a person, the business said.

But Craigslist has felt unfairly picked on for this issue, since similar ??? and even more graphic ??? ads are posted in newspapers and on other sites, and have been for decades.

???Many prominent companies, including AT&T, Microsoft and Village Voice Media, not to mention major newspapers and other upstanding South Carolina businesses feature more ???adult services??? ads than does craigslist, some of a very graphic nature,??? Buckmaster wrote.

Buckmaster asked in his post whether McMaster intends to prosecute all these other businesses.

He added: ???We would very much appreciate an apology at your very earliest convenience.???