Why Airbnb Will Probably Win Legal Fight Against San Francisco
A federal law makes it nearly impossible to punish websites for the behavior of their users.
Is Airbnb Really Worth $30 Billion?
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San Francisco has picked a fight with Airbnb that it probably can’t win.
On Monday, the home-rental business filed a lawsuit against its hometown, saying that San Francisco’s attempt to get Airbnb to help enforce its housing law is illegal. Airbnb has reluctantly gone along with the city’s efforts to regulate the short-term rental market. As it stands, people can rent out their apartments with some restrictions, but they must also register with the city. Enforcing this law has been tricky, so the city’s Board of Supervisors recently passed an update saying websites like Airbnb can be punished if the people listing homes on their sites haven’t registered with the city.