Craigslist not liable for discriminatory housing ads

Some of the ads I read on Craigslist make me cringe. As a freelance writer, I’m always searching for new assignments. I rarely check Craigslist, though, because the place is filled with people who want to pay writers $25 for 1,000-word stories.

But no Craigslist ads are as bad as some as the ones I’ve stumbled across in the online listings site’s housing sections. You’ve probably seen them, too: Landlords who only want to rent to specific ethnic groups.

Federal housing laws forbid people to discriminate against buyers or renters on the basis of race, religion or gender.

But a federal appeals court late last week ruled that Craigslist is not liable for any discriminatory housing ads posted on its site. The ruling stated that Craigslist is only an intermediary party, not a publisher.

For the record, I agree with the ruling, no matter how upsetting those discriminatory housing ads may be. It’s not fair to blame Craigslist for what its users say.