Airbnb sues New York City over data collection law
The company says the law "violates core constitutional rights."
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Airbnb sued New York City on Friday over a bill requiring the company to hand over the names and addresses of people who rent their homes on its site.
The law, which was passed last month by the New York City Council, is designed to make it easier to find "bad actors" that rent out several apartments to tourists on a short-term basis, which can be problematic given the city's limited housing supply, the council said. If Airbnb refuses to share data, it could be fined thousands of dollars.
"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 US Constitution," Airbnb says in the suit, which was filed in a US District Court in New York.
Earlier this year, after similar legislation went into effect in San Francisco, nearly half of Airbnb's listings in the city disappeared. The Office of Special Enforcement in New York estimates that around two-thirds of Airbnb listings are illegal, according to Recode.
The city of New York didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Read the full lawsuit below:
08.24.18 Airbnb v City of NY Complaint by jonathan_skillings on Scribd