Craigslist Not Liable for Fair Housing Act Violations

As you may already know, Craigslist is a popular site on which people can post, among other things, homes or other real estate for rent or sale. Unlike an ordinary newspaper advertisement, Craigslist content is published almost immediately after a user submits its ad to Craigslist online. Craigslist does not charge the user for this service.

However, Craigslist does not filter out advertisements based on the Fair Housing Act. A user can submit an ad with a statement such as “no minorities allowed” or “no children”, and the ad will be published nonetheless. As a result, Craigslist was sued (Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, Inc. v. Craigslist, Inc., 519 F.3d 666 (7th Cir. 2008)).

Although the plaintiff argued that Craigslist should be required to filter the ads, and that the ads were only posted because Craigslist exists, the court disagreed and found in Craigslist’s favor. The court explained that Craigslist did not write the ads, and in an online context such as this one, Craigslist should not be considered the “speaker” of the words in the advertisement, nor even the publisher.

Bottom line — Craigslist is not required to filter ads. If you see an advertisement for housing on Craigslist and it sounds discriminatory, it very well may be!