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Craigslist Sued For Violating Fair Housing Laws

Posted by Zonk on from the not-good-form dept.

The Good Reverend writes "The Associated Press has a report today about online classified site CraigsList being accused in a federal lawsuit of violating fair housing laws by publishing discriminatory classified ads. Current law, which applies to newspapers, prohibits ads that discriminate on the basis of race, gender, family status, religion, all of which can be found on Craigslist."

2 of 429 comments (clear)

  1. 47 USC 230; craigslist wins by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
    End of story.

    (although we're in the 7th Circuit, and the issue is therefore a little more subtle, you can bet your sweet bippy the above will be dispositive)

  2. Re:The Actual postings... by tmittz · · Score: 5, Informative

    Not sure if he's specifically thinking of this act, but the Communications Decency Act will almost certainly protect them. The Ninth Circuit already came down in a very similar case (Fair Housing Council of San Fernando Valley v. Roommate.Com, LLC., 33 Media L. Rep. 1636 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 30, 2005)) that the online ads were protected. While this certainly isn't binding on the present case, it is persuasive, and there are various other rulings that suggest the CDA is a very broad and powerful statute.