October 7, 2016
Airbnb has taken the city of San Francisco to court over a law requiring that the home-rental service verify its hosts are registered with the city or else face steep fines, but if yesterday’s interaction between a federal judge and lawyers representing Airbnb and Homeaway at a hearing in the case is any indication, the Chronicle reports that the $30 billion company may need to find a new legal approach. The basis for Airbnb’s challenge lies in the 1996 Communications Decency Act which was designed in the early days of the internet to protect online publishers. The argument goes like this: Airbnb is an online publisher of short-term rental listing and thus cannot be held liable if some of said listings fail to comply with local regulations. While the act is established law, Reuters reports that US District Judge James Donato appears unsure it’s applicable here…
Source: http://sfist.com/2016/10/07/judge_and_airbnb_face_off_over_san.php
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