Craigslist to sheriff: Federal law protects site [CNet News]

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Ronald J Riley \(RJR Com\)" <rjr () rjriley com>
Date: March 9, 2009 11:15:00 AM EDT
To: <dave () farber net>
Subject: Craigslist to sheriff: Federal law protects site [CNet News]

For IP if you wish.  It never ceases to amaze me how those who are  
supposed to enforce the law of the land constantly step outside the  
law in their quest for easy solutions to accomplishing their jobs.

Ronald J. Riley,


Speaking only on my own behalf.
Affiliations:
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR act PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased  
founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 / (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 9 pm EST.


http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10191150-93.html?tag=nl.e703

March 6, 2009 6:16 PM PST
Craigslist to sheriff: Federal law protects site

by Greg Sandoval

Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster has responded to the lawsuit filed this  
week by the sheriff of Chicago's Cook County against the Web  
classified publication.
Buckmaster suggested that the suit is a waste of time. Cook County  
Sheriff Tom Dart called Craigslist one of the country's largest  
sources of prostitution in the complaint he filed in federal court and  
asked the court to force Craigslist managers to remove their erotic  
services section.

Buckmaster said in a statement late Friday that Craigslist wrote Dart  
in 2007 and explained that the law is pretty clear and favors  
Craigslist.

"As our counsel explained to Sheriff Dart's Department in 2007,"  
Buckmaster wrote. "Craigslist cannot be held liable, as a matter of  
clear federal law, for content submitted to the site by our  
users...Frankly, Sheriff Dart's actions mystify me."

A spokesman for the sheriff's department could not be reached on Friday.

Dart isn't the first to ask Craigslist to do more to weed out ads for  
prostitution. In Buckmaster's statement, he pointed out that in  
November, the site "reached an agreement with 40 state attorneys- 
general about creating a new enforcement plan for Craigslist."

Among the 40 was Lisa Madigan, attorney general for Illinois.

"And yet, inexplicably, Sheriff Dart apparently bypassed the Illinois  
attorney general's office and filed this complaint through a private  
law firm," Buckmaster wrote. "We assist police forces all over the  
country, including members of Sheriff Dart's department. The vast  
majority seem to understand that Craigslist is part of the solution  
when it comes to combating terrible crimes like human trafficking and  
child exploitation."

Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. He  
is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles  
Times. E-mail Greg.

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