Intellectual Property Law

Court Backs Craigslist in Discrimination Brouhaha

By Ryan Singel, Kevin Poulsen, Sarah Lai Stirland, Kim Zetter, and David Kravets

A federal appeals court dismissed a discrimination suit against craigslist, ruling Friday the online classified advertising site is immune from accusations that it violates the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968.

At issue is whether the site can be liable for allowing its customers to post discriminatory housing ads that say, for example, whites only, or those that forbid gays and lesbians. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in upholding a lower court judge, ruled craigslist should be treated like an internet service provider and hence is not liable for the postings of third parties.

An online information system such as craigslist, the court noted, cannot be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by someone else. "Yet only in a capacity as publisher could craigslist be liable," the court ruled. (.pdf)

The Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law brought the case two years ago. The group claimed craigslist should abide by the same rules as do newspapers and screen ads to ensure they comport with antidiscrimination laws.

The appeals court agreed with craigslist. Among other things, craigslist argued that it would be impossible and counterproductive to vet and filter the millions of ads it hosts each year.

The 1968 act deems it illegal to publish ads excluding tenants because of race, gender, marital status, national origin and religion.

Photo infoMofo See Also:

• ObamaCycle: A Craigslist for Obama Campaigners
• Better Internet Domain Lookup Now a Competitive Market
• Online Forums Act as Information and Assistance Posts for SoCal ...
• Building Contractor Sues Google for Indexing Consumer Complaint

Full post as published by Threat Level on March 14, 2008 (boomark / email).