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Communication Law Keyed to Benjamin, 2nd Ed.
Fair Housing Council v. Roommates.com, LLC
Citation:
521 F.3d 1157 (2008)Facts
Roommate.com operated a website designed to match people seeking roommates. Before users could search listings or post housing opportunities, they were required to create profiles by answering questions about their gender, sexual orientation, and whether they would bring children to the household. Users also had to specify preferences for roommates regarding these same characteristics. The website then used this information to generate “profile pages” displaying the information and to match users with compatible roommates. Additionally, the site offered an optional “Additional Comments” section where users could write free-form descriptions. The Fair Housing Councils sued Roommate.com, alleging that requiring users to disclose this information and using it for matching purposes violated the Fair Housing Act and California housing discrimination laws. Roommate.com defended by claiming immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which generally protects interactive computer service providers from liability for third-party content.
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