Craigslist is seeking legal action against South Carolina’s Attorney General Henry McMaster after McMaster criticized the online classifieds site despite the removal of its erotic ads section. Craigslist is, amazingly, looking for “declaratory relief and a restraining order” from the vigilantly moralizing Southerner.

cnet:

Craigslist said Wednesday it is suing South Carolina’s attorney general over the threat of criminal charges against the Web site and its executives.

In the lawsuit filed in federal court, Craigslist says it is “seeking declaratory relief and a restraining order” connected to accusations by Henry McMaster, the state’s attorney general, that the classified ad site has not adequately removed “advertisements for prostitution and graphic pornographic material.”

In a blog post Wednesday morning, Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster said that the charges are egregious:

In addition to being unwarranted by the facts, legal experts agree that the charges threatened represent an unconstitutional prior restraint on free speech, and are clearly barred by federal law (sec 230 CDA).

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