From The San Francisco Chronicle
Craigslist clash over adult ads raises key issues
By James Temple
Attorneys general in 18 states demanded that Craigslist remove its adult services section last week, the latest clash in a long-running conflict over online sexual ads that is likely to lead to a court battle, congressional debate or both, legal experts say....
How any such efforts turn out, however, is more difficult to say.
At the heart of the issue is an open legal question: What responsibilities do websites have to recognize and stop criminal activity facilitated through their properties?
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act and Communications Decency Act generally protect online publishers from the illegal actions of third parties on their sites, particularly in regard to matters like copyright and defamation. But there are narrow exceptions in the latter law when it comes to criminal statues....
"If you impose liability on Craigslist, YouTube and Facebook for anything their users do, then they're not going to take chances," said Brian Carver, an attorney and assistant professor at the School of Information at UC Berkeley. "It would likely result in the takedown of what might otherwise be perfectly legitimate free expression."...