Post by High Priestess on Aug 24, 2018 17:38:27 GMT
This is a move by Airbnb that I approve of:
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-24/airbnb-sues-new-york-city-to-block-user-data-bill-over-privacy
See the lawsuit here:
cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/12550647/08.24.18_Airbnb_v_City_of_NY_Complaint__1_.pdf
Airbnb is hoping to avoid millions in losses when the law, designed to police short-term home rentals, takes effect this winter. The New York City legislation, which passed with a 45-0 vote, would require Airbnb to share the names and addresses of its hosts with the city’s Office of Special Enforcement.
“The ordinance is an unlawful end-run around established restraints on governmental action and violates core constitutional rights,” the company said in a claim filed in New York court on Friday.
New York, which faces an affordable housing shortage, has struggled with how to enforce regulation to control Airbnb and other vacation rental and home-sharing services like Expedia Inc.’s HomeAway. Regulators are arguing that short-term rentals, which can be more profitable than long-term leases, disrupt neighborhoods and drive up rents. The new legislation is designed to give officials enough information to catch Airbnb hosts who operate outside of strict home-sharing laws.
“This law provides the city with the critical data it needs to preserve our housing stock, keep visitors safe and ensure residents feel secure in their homes and neighborhoods,” Christian Klossner, executive director for the mayor’s special enforcement office, wrote. “The city will defend it.”
Some people close to Airbnb said the new bill is a devastating blow for the company. New York is one of Airbnb’s most popular markets and the legislation if approved could inspire other cities to take a harder line on short-term home-rentals.
Good for Airbnb for fighting back on this. Governments too often dont' seem to get it that they can't violate the constitution in order to get greater ability to enforce their laws. Even if those laws are reasonable and good. We have a constitution, we have laws against unreasonable search and seizure, and against government going on "fishing expeditions", and those exist for a good purpose.
It is not clear yet whether based on Airbnb's particular structure, it can legally withhold this data if a city demands it. I tend to think Airbnb is not legally required to provide private data of those who it does business with. We will see what the court says in this case.
But this statement in Airbnb's complaint seems hopeful to me:
The Homesharing Surveillance Ordinance requires homesharing platforms to turn over an unprecedented amount of intimate personal data about their New York City hosts and whom they invite into their homes each month to a government enforcement agency—the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement—that works shoulder to shoulder with private investigators hired and paid by the hotel lobby. No probable cause, notice, or legal review is contemplated in connection with the bulk collection of this data, and no real restrictions are placed on its use or dissemination. As such, the Ordinance is an unlawful end-run around established restraints on governmental action and violates core constitutional rights under the First and Fourth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and Article I, Section 12 of the New York Constitution, as well as the federal Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2701 et seq.
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-24/airbnb-sues-new-york-city-to-block-user-data-bill-over-privacy
See the lawsuit here:
cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/12550647/08.24.18_Airbnb_v_City_of_NY_Complaint__1_.pdf
Airbnb is hoping to avoid millions in losses when the law, designed to police short-term home rentals, takes effect this winter. The New York City legislation, which passed with a 45-0 vote, would require Airbnb to share the names and addresses of its hosts with the city’s Office of Special Enforcement.
“The ordinance is an unlawful end-run around established restraints on governmental action and violates core constitutional rights,” the company said in a claim filed in New York court on Friday.
New York, which faces an affordable housing shortage, has struggled with how to enforce regulation to control Airbnb and other vacation rental and home-sharing services like Expedia Inc.’s HomeAway. Regulators are arguing that short-term rentals, which can be more profitable than long-term leases, disrupt neighborhoods and drive up rents. The new legislation is designed to give officials enough information to catch Airbnb hosts who operate outside of strict home-sharing laws.
“This law provides the city with the critical data it needs to preserve our housing stock, keep visitors safe and ensure residents feel secure in their homes and neighborhoods,” Christian Klossner, executive director for the mayor’s special enforcement office, wrote. “The city will defend it.”
Some people close to Airbnb said the new bill is a devastating blow for the company. New York is one of Airbnb’s most popular markets and the legislation if approved could inspire other cities to take a harder line on short-term home-rentals.
Good for Airbnb for fighting back on this. Governments too often dont' seem to get it that they can't violate the constitution in order to get greater ability to enforce their laws. Even if those laws are reasonable and good. We have a constitution, we have laws against unreasonable search and seizure, and against government going on "fishing expeditions", and those exist for a good purpose.
It is not clear yet whether based on Airbnb's particular structure, it can legally withhold this data if a city demands it. I tend to think Airbnb is not legally required to provide private data of those who it does business with. We will see what the court says in this case.
But this statement in Airbnb's complaint seems hopeful to me:
The Homesharing Surveillance Ordinance requires homesharing platforms to turn over an unprecedented amount of intimate personal data about their New York City hosts and whom they invite into their homes each month to a government enforcement agency—the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement—that works shoulder to shoulder with private investigators hired and paid by the hotel lobby. No probable cause, notice, or legal review is contemplated in connection with the bulk collection of this data, and no real restrictions are placed on its use or dissemination. As such, the Ordinance is an unlawful end-run around established restraints on governmental action and violates core constitutional rights under the First and Fourth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and Article I, Section 12 of the New York Constitution, as well as the federal Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2701 et seq.