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Comment by icebraining | Hacker News Reader

Should newspapers also be held liable if the owners of the houses being advertised on classified ads discriminated?

Uber is a service that abstracts the drivers. AirBnB is a marketplace where the seller is clearly identified, sets their own prices and policies, has their own reputation, etc. They are very much not alike.

(This is not a endorsement of their arbitration policies, mind you)

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Newspapers classifieds sections don't help set prices nor are they involved in the transaction for rental/purchase (Airbnb takes a %).

I don't think they can claim common carrier if they're involved to this level, can they?

Legally, I have no idea, especially since AirBnB operates in many jurisdictions.

But I don't see why giving price suggestions means they are suddenly responsible for the policies of their users.

AirBnB mediates the whole transaction. Their business proposition is entirely that they are the middle-layer between host and guest. In advertising, the advertising medium has no involvement in the services being offered or fulfilled.

That's a fair point. On the other hand, should I be able to sue the travel agency through which I bought my tickets if the airline company is found to be discriminatory?

You see, if the putative discriminees were to go after the discriminators, it would likely result in a relatively small-money settlement. Much better to assert some bizarre form of group responsibility, to up the chances of a big score.

In other words, greed. That's all it is

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