NEWS SCAN

A federal judge  rejected a request to block a San Francisco law that forbids home-rental companies from reclaiming booking in circumstances where the home has not been registered with the city. Judge James Donato of the US District Court for the Northern District of California rejected Airbnb’s  assertion that the ordinance violated federal law that protections internet companies from liability for content posted on their platforms. The judge found that this argument did not hold merit since the ordinance did not regulate what could be said or posted in the listings but did call for further proceedings on the matter. Airbnb provides a website to connect hosts with short-term renters. The San Francisco ordinance makes it illegal for Airbnb to collect fees for rentals that are not properly registered with the city.

Airbnb has been involved in a wave of lawsuits  this past year. The company filed similar suits against Anaheim in July and Santa Monica in September, both of which also similarly fined the company for illegal listings. The San Francisco suit was the first of this kind filed by Airbnb where the company sought an injunction to prevent the city from removing listings and fining the company for the unregistered listings. In San Francisco and Anaheim, Airbnb similarly invoked free speech protections of the First Amendment and the Communication Decency Act, while additionally invoking the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause protections in Anaheim. In Santa Monica, the company made no mention of the Communication Decency Act, but additionally invoked the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable search and seizures. Both the Santa Monica and Anaheim laws involved a similar 30-day period and violation of the same triggering the imposition of fines. Airbnb’s market value has tripled  within a short period of two years to $30 billion, and the company is fiercely challenging any regulation that would adversely affect its host count. New York City is Airbnb’s largest market in the US where Airbnb hosts generated over $1 billion in revenue  in 2015.

As carried in JURIST on 10.11.16