A federal district court in Chicago yesterday summarily dismissed Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart's lawsuit alleging that online classified ad service Craigslist facilitated prostitution and created a public nuisance through the operation of the "adult" (formerly "erotic") services section of its website.
The court held that the sheriff's claim was barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The court said that the sheriff's claim essentially sought to hold Craigslist liable as a publisher or speaker of third-party online content -- the kind of claim for which CDA Section 230 gives broad immunity to online publishers.
The case is Dart v. Craigslist Inc., No. 09-1385 (N.D. Ill., Oct. 20, 2009).
More later certainly.
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