Chicago Lawyers' Comm. for Civil Rights Under Law, Inc. v. Craigslist, Inc.
Issue
Whether Craigslist could be held liable under the Fair Housing Act's advertising prohibition for providing the online platform on which users posted discriminatory housing notices.
What Happened
Section 3604(c) of the Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to "make, print, or publish" any notice or advertisement expressing a discriminatory preference in the sale or rental of housing. The Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights sued Craigslist, arguing that the site's housing section hosted numerous postings that expressed illegal preferences — such as "NO MINORITIES" or "No children" — in violation of § 3604(c). The committee argued Craigslist's infrastructure facilitated the creation of discriminatory ads. Craigslist invoked § 230(c)(1). Chief Judge Easterbrook affirmed dismissal. He framed the question as whether, under § 230, craigslist "makes" or "publishes" the discriminatory notices — and held it does not. Craigslist is the provider of an electronic platform; the users are the ones who "make" the illegal advertisements. Easterbrook noted that craigslist had fewer than thirty employees managing over thirty million monthly postings, making editorial review impractical, and that § 230 allocated responsibility for content to those who created it. The court did not adopt or reject the Ninth Circuit's material-contribution framework; it reasoned instead that providing a neutral forum simply is not the same as making or publishing discriminatory content.
Why It Matters
The Seventh Circuit's definitive § 230 statement on platform liability for user-generated discriminatory housing ads, reaching the opposite outcome from the Ninth Circuit's Roommates.com on closely analogous facts. Easterbrook's opinion reflects a textualist approach: the platform does not "make, print, or publish" discriminatory ads; users do. The case represents a significant counterpoint to the Ninth Circuit's material-contribution standard and illustrates the circuit divide on when platform architecture transforms a neutral host into a content developer.
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