Craigslist found not guilty of housing discrimination
The wildly popular, infinitely useful, online classified ads website, Craigslist, was found not guilty of charges from Chicago based Civil Rights attorney group that claimed Craigslist violated federal housing laws and was responsible for posting ads that excluded potential buyers or tenants on the basis of race, gender or religion.
Since Craigslist allows it’s users to post unedited classified ads, it is protected under the Communications Decency Act. The Electronic Frontier Foundation said this ruling means that, “the soapbox is not liable for what the speaker said.” Keeping Craigslist and sites like it, free from liability when it comes to it’s users’ posted content.
The appeals court didn’t rule out investigating individuals who post discriminatory ads onto Craigslist, which some argue, is a more appropriate approach to dealing with the matter.
One Comment so far ...
Good for Craigslist. Taking this “issue” to court was ridiculous. Is it Craigslist fault that people don’t want to live around blacks?
Homeowners and property managers should have more rights than they do. Any law that claims to be about fair housing should protect owners from unqualified buyers and tenants. The mortgage crisis this country is now going through is due in large part to blacks being given overly generous incentives to buy homes - and they still won’t make their payments.
Comment on March 17, 2008 11:14 am