Comments on: “Fair housing” suit against Craigslist

By: Overlawyered

Overlawyered — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 21:35:40 +0000

Craigslist classifieds suit

Google, Amazon, AOL and Yahoo are all defending Craigslist in the suit demanding that it censor its housing ads so as to prevent users from requesting “gay Latino sought for roomshare” and the like (Lynne…

By: Overlawyered

Overlawyered — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 11:42:58 +0000

Suing Craigslist — with your money

The federal taxpayer, by way of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, funnels substantial sums to private “fair housing” advocacy groups for purposes of suing landlords, newspapers, and other likely suspects over alleged housing…

By: Overlawyered

Overlawyered — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 23:16:32 +0000

Newspaper defends Craigslist

Dogs defending cats dept.: Denver’s Rocky Mountain News editorially criticizes the “fair housing” complaint against the online service over allegedly improper rental, roommate and property-sale ads (“Meddlers eye online freedom”, Feb. 19)(see Feb. 9)….

By: Ryland

Ryland — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 15:56:33 +0000

When do they start suing all the “senior communities” or the 55+ developements?

By: scott

scott — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 20:44:51 +0000

David Wilson is right. In the name of taking away the rights of racists, we have all lost our rights.

And why shouldn’t a racist be able to rent a house to whomever he wants for whatever stupid reason he wants? Does “property” mean anything? I know I’m preaching to the choir, but this is one of those issues that really frustrates me. The left absolutely will not allow an honest debate on the issue and screams racist at anyone who’s against anti-discrimination laws for private citizens.

AT THE SAME TIME THEY CODIFY RACIST POLICIES AT PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.

By: David Wilson

David Wilson — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 17:27:06 +0000

One of the grossest intrusions into freedom of contract and association is without doubt the “fair housing” laws. But don’t doubt the longer reaches of jurisdiction created by cyberspace. Nor should you doubt the absurd reaches of these laws. Back in “dead tree” days, the New York Times was once met with a legal challenge for running housing advertising that failed to depict black models.

By: Simple Solution

Simple Solution — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 16:57:50 +0000

I think the plaintiffs probably know perfectly well what Craigslist is and how it works. I’d bet that the plaintiffs are more likely trying to Take a Stand(TM) by applying “real-world laws” to the Internet. But there’s a simple defense to this suit: 47 U.S.C. 230(c)(1) (“No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”) End of discussion.

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 16:52:18 +0000

In 1987, I answered an ad in the NY Times for apartment. The guys said I had it, I paid gave him a $1000 check. We signed papers and all. When I went to move in, so did 35 other people. We were all bilked. By the CraigsList lawsuit reasoning, I could have sued the NY Times, correct?

By: Captain Obvious

Captain Obvious — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 16:16:24 +0000

Can you say “Rule 11,” kiddies?

By: Bill Hobbs

Bill Hobbs — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 16:11:28 +0000

It’s clear that the plaintiffs’ lawyers don’t quite understand what Craigslist is.

Craigslist didn’t run those ads “in Chicago.” It ran them in cyberspace, and they were available online for anyone to read no matter whether they were in Chicago or the other side of the world.