Court Says Craiglist Not Liable for Biased Housing Ads

Internet Law

Court Says Craiglist Not Liable for Biased Housing Ads

Posted Mar 17, 2008, 07:49 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss

A federal appeals court has ruled that Craigslist cannot be held liable for discriminatory housing ads posted on its website.

The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Communications Decency Act of 1996 protects the popular Internet classifieds company, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.).

The ruling is one of several that hold the law protects Internet companies from liability for postings by others.

The court said more than 30 million notices are posted to Craigslist each month, and its staff of fewer than 30 people do not screen them ahead of time. The group challenging the law, the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, had contended the law was not drafted to protect Internet service providers from liability for posting discriminatory housing ads.

“That’s true enough, but the reason a legislature writes a general statute is to avoid any need to traipse through the United States Code and consider all potential sources of liability, one at a time,” said the opinion (PDF) by Judge Frank Easterbrook.

“Using the remarkably candid postings on Craigslist, the Lawyers’ Committee can identify many targets to investigate. It can dispatch testers and collect damages from any landlord or owner who engages in discrimination,” the court said. “It can assemble a list of names to send to the attorney general for prosecution. But … it cannot sue the messenger just because the message reveals a third party’s plan to engage in unlawful discrimination.”

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