Yesterday both Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster took their opinions to the streets following Dart's filing of a Federal lawsuit in order to curb use of the site by those who seek to engage in prostitution.
Dart was interviewed by Robert Siegal of NPR's "All things Considered," saying the online classified site hasn't done enough to curb the illegal activity.
"I've told them, you've got a great site for 99 percent of it, but there's one part of it that (A) is illegal, but (B) is causing people to be victimized, primarily women," Dart says. "I've asked them: I've said either shut it down or monitor.
"They will do neither of them. And that's the thing that's perplexing to me."
As we wrote when the story first broke, Dart was seeking to have the erotic services section taken down as well as being reimbursed for the time and effort that his department puts into busting those who use the service for illegal prostitution.
Buckmaster, on the Craigslist Blog commended the work Dart and his department has done and talked about how the service has tried to work with law enforcement.
"As example, here is a recent joint statement by craigslist, 40 state Attorneys General — including the Attorney General of Illinois Lisa Madigan — as well as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which was announced in November 2008:
blog.craigslist.org/2008/11/joint-statement-with-attorneys-general-ncmec"
He adds that they had not yet been served, and had only heard about the suit through the media releases. He went on to reprint a long list of procedures they take to prevent illegal activity on the site.In the second post, a press release solidifies their stance.
Here in it's entirety:
"Cites Record of Cooperation with Illinois Law Enforcement
San Francisco, CA - March 6, 2009 - “Frankly, Sheriff Dart’s actions mystify me,” said craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster, referencing the private civil suit filed against the online service yesterday by the Cook County (Illinois) Sheriff.
Buckmaster explained that “in mid and late 2007 we had very positive communications with the Cook County Sheriff’s Department, in which we explained how “erotic services” came to be, the purposes it is intended to serve, and the statutes that support our right to operate as we do.
“Since then, we have not only initiated multiple new measures to further reduce misuse of our website by anyone intending criminal activity, we also reached an agreement with 40 state attorneys-general, including Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, about an enforcement plan designed to protect the public from those who would misuse our site.”
And yet, inexplicably, Sheriff Dart apparently bypassed the Illinois Attorney General’s office, and filed this complaint through a private law firm.
“As our counsel explained to Sheriff Dart’s Department in 2007, craigslist cannot be held liable as a matter of clear federal law for content submitted to the site by our users.” Buckmaster pledged to defend vigorously the lawsuit brought by the Sheriff.
Buckmaster further pledged craigslist’s continuing commitment to helping law enforcement officers nationwide locate and rescue victims and put criminals in jail. “We assist police forces
all over the country, including members of Sheriff Dart’s department,” says Buckmaster. “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.”
“They know and appreciate that we are working very hard to eliminate misuse of our site and provide assistance with their investigations, and for that understanding we are very grateful.”
Stay tuned.
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