Craigslist Fair Housing Decision Being Appealed

A Chicago nonprofit group is now appealing the Craigslist decision

In what some critiques see as a threat the openness of the internet ....A Chicago nonprofit is asking a federal appeals court to reconsider whether Craigslist is immune from charges that the online classified service violates the Fair Housing Act by allowing users to post discriminatory housing advertisements.

Craigslist is considered to be the largest online classified ad web portal in the world and in many cases charges no fee for use.

"Craigslist acknowledges it has made no effort to block or screen discriminatory advertisements posted on its website," the Lawyers' Group said -- posts are removed only after they are flagged by users.

In a statement, Craigslist said that the company continues to view the Lawyers' Committee's legal efforts as "misdirected," and urged the group to drop its appeal. Jim Buckmaster, the chief executive of Craigslists, said imposing liability on the site for its users' postings would ruin it.

Court decisions so far have almost universally rejected claims against online companies that publish others' speech. Internet companies have been held immune from suits for libel, invasion of privacy, fraud, breach of contract and housing discrimination.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/05/weekinreview/05liptak.html

Posted on October 19, 2007 12:44:27 by Blog Author