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Online Classified Site Pioneer Craigslist Sued for Housing Ad Bias
A U.S. District Court lawsuit in Chicago, has accused the online site, Craigslist, of violating fair housing laws by publishing discriminatory classified ads. The suit revives the question of what legal boundaries exist for postings on the Internet, and whether site hosts are publishers or immune online service providers under federal law.
Filed by a Chicago civil rights and fair housing watch group, the suit contends that Craigslist's site for Chicago distributed more than 100 ads that violated the federal Fair Housing Act. The ads allegedly excluded prospective buyers or tenants on the basis of race, gender or religion. Craigslist provides a forum for users to post classified ads for free and does not review the ads. Other housing forums such as the hurricane relief website Katrinahousing.org, have also received complaints of discriminatory ads from affiliated housing watch groups.
For additional information, visit:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060210/ap_on_hi_te/internet_discrimination