Craigslist and the law

The popular network of online communities wants an apology from South Carolina's attorney general, but it would probably do well to understand laws globally

Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster is on the warpath. He wants an apology from Henry McMaster, South Carolina's attorney general, who has threatened to file criminal charges against his site for abetting prostitution.

In a blog post, he said, "We're willing to accept our share of criticism, but wrongfully accusing Craigslist of criminal misconduct is simply beyond the pale."

International law

While some people have in the past compared the law to a certain beast of burden, Craigslist has to understand that, like it or not, the law has to be respected. And by the law, we don't just mean International law, but Indian law as well, along with the law of any country from which Craigslist can be accessed.

Let's take India's own case for instance. Homosexuals here want the government to amend IPC's Section 377, which says that whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished. The 'order of nature' means that man may sleep with a woman and vice versa, and no other combinations are permitted by law.

Erring site

You can take any stance vis-u00c3u00a0-vis this law, but until it is held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of India or is amended by parliament, it can be enforced. But Craigslist has an entry (https://bangalore.craigslist.co.in/w4w/1145224284.html) that says "I am looking to dress-up, and sensually cosy up with a woman who can help dress me up and treat me like her girl friend...I am in blr May 9th for one evening. I can host in my hotel. We can always meet in a common place, check each other out before deciding if its ok to move forward."

Something like this is bound to be punishable under Indian law. If Indian authorities pursue Craigslist, what will they do? Ask for an apology after blatantly violating the law? And the law can move against Craigslist because the domain under question is an Indian one.

The implications

Craigslist, like any other online entity, will need to understand that, since the nature of the Web makes it accessible globally, one also needs to have rules for sites that have some global standards. For this, maybe some entity (ideally the UN, after all it has had a global role to play even before the Internet was created) should put together some rules.

But until that happens, maybe, sites can come up with some rules for self governance.

The dogs of war
Like any popular site, Craigslist has faced criticism on a variety of issues. Here's an extract from the San Francisco Chronicle, dated Monday, July 11, 2005, which concerns dogs and Craigslist: Nearly two dozen Bay Area shelters and pet rescue groups are asking the popular Craigslist online bulletin board to ban postings that advertise certain animals for sale, saying casual transactions encourage backyard breeding and irresponsible adoptions. Those activities in turn can lead to dangerous situations like the recent pit bull mauling death of a San Francisco boy, representatives of 21 agencies said.

QUICK TAKE
>>Craigslist CEO wants an apology from South Carolina's attorney general Henry McMaster
>>McMaster and others have accused Craigslist of accepting ads for prostitution
>>Craigslist is featuring homosexual classifieds in India