After rallying hosts to fight a New York state law that fines them for posting technically illegal listings on Maid Pension: Erotic Services From MZ GirlsAirbnb, the company has abandoned the cause.
Airbnb settled a lawsuit against New York on Friday on the condition that fines for violating the state's apartment rental rules would only be leveled against hosts and not the company. The law was always written in a way that implied its fines of up to $7,500 would apply to hosts, but now Airbnb has that distinction in writing.
"We very much see this as a material step forward for our hosts, with Airbnb and the city agreeing to 'work cooperatively on ways to address New York City's permanent housing shortage, including through host compliance with Airbnb's One Host, One Home policy,'" Airbnb said in a statement. "We look forward to using this as a basis to finding an approach that protects responsible New Yorkers while cracking down on illegal hotels that remove permanent housing off the market or create unsafe spaces."
"Our hosts are our top priority, always," the company added. "The lawsuit was a way to fight a bad law that does not distinguish between responsible hosts and truly bad actors. By settling we are opening the door to cooperation with the City."
The company maintains that the lawsuit is only one way it was fighting New York's restrictive regulations.
SEE ALSO: Airbnb relents, will limit how long people can rent out properties in two major citiesThe lawsuit challenged a bill passed this summer that made it illegal to advertise or post on Airbnb any listings for rentals of whole apartments in shared buildings for fewer than 30 days. Rentals in that category have technically been illegal since 2010, although they're exceedingly common on Airbnb.
The 2010 law was passed before Airbnb really gained a foothold in New York. But that hasn't stopped Airbnb's opponents from using it against the short-term rental company.
Airbnb claimed in its lawsuit that the law by governing advertising, or a form of speech violated the First Amendment and the Federal Communications Decency Act.
The company, valued at $30 billion, held New York events to get its hosts to lobby against the bill before it was signed into law. Even pro-Airbnb hosts at those events suspected that the company might not stand behind them to the end.
"Airbnb is doing this," one host said at a September gathering, "but they're not going to pay these fines for us."
It's still unclear exactly how the law will be enforced. Although opponents of Airbnb are focused on New York City, the law applies to the entire state. Hosts can be fined $1,000 for a first violation of the law and $7,500 for a third.
It's not just the law itself that poses a problem for Airbnb. Anti-Airbnb legislation in a high profile city like New York could inspire other cities to follow suit. New York is already one of Airbnb's most lucrative markets in the world.
Despite settling the suit, Airbnb still doesn't like the law, New York spokesman Peter Schottenfels said. The company plans to work with the city to figure out how to use the law to crack down on more traditional illegal hotels. A public hearing will be held later this month on questions surrounding the law's enforcement.
Topics Airbnb New York City
DDR4 Memory at 4000 MT/s, Does It Make a Difference?
The moon formed from a vaporizing collision involving the Earth, study finds
Some police departments shelve body cameras, blame data costs
How dangerous is North Korea?
The State of 5G: When It's Coming, How Fast It Will Be & The Sci
NFL players hold national anthem protests on opening Sunday
Donald Trump just proposed a radical change to the debates
5 essential trips for 'Game of Thrones' superfans, organized by house
Hidden Siri Commands and Unusual Responses
5 essential trips for 'Game of Thrones' superfans, organized by house
Best robot vacuum deal: Save $200 on Eufy X10 Pro Omni robot vacuum
HP is buying Samsung's printer business for $1.05 billion
Wounded veteran helps Team USA to paratriathlon sweep on 9/11
Netflix's 'Making a Murderer' filmmaking duo win big at Creative Arts Emmys
Music is the secret weapon of Mario Speedrunners
Inspirational photo shows the real dedication of working moms
400 students showed up to sing to their teacher battling cancer
How one software startup made it by doing everything backwards
4GHz CPU Battle: AMD 2nd
Univision executives delete 6 Gawker Media posts
'Crazy Rich Asians' stars try (and fail) to identify classic romcoms from iconic quotesRescue puppy's delightfully weird portraits scream 'adopt me'BBC is really getting into 'slow radio' with a dedicated program'Destiny 2: Forsaken' first impressions: The first 24 hoursMelting glaciers leave behind three new islands in the Arctic OceanSnap's new Spectacles look way less dorkyBMW makes sure we can’t escape voice assistants while drivingNike reveals inspiring new ad narrated by Colin KaepernickHuawei’s recent cheating wont help it win over AmericansLatinas hold only 2% of STEM jobs. These 5 women are working to fix that.Hurricane Florence is our first major hurricane of the 2018 seasonThis $1,500 smart mirror gives you fitness classes in your homeInstagram adds 6 new memeA 'Simpsons' producer just noticed a blatant, laughable mistake on the showInstagram adds personalized emoji shortcutsJeff Goldblum surprises commuters with jazz gig in London stationChristine Hallquist could become America's first openly trans governorNaming Pokémon using autocorrect is an endlessly thrilling experienceCher slams Boris Johnson in 2 angry, emoji'Destiny 2: Forsaken' first impressions: The first 24 hours See a dust devil whirl by the Mars Perseverance rover Vivo partners with Zeiss for its new X60 flagship phones Apple discontinues two more iMac desktop configurations Watch Cardi B and Offset get engaged onstage in Philadelphia These are the best photo 4 beginner mindfulness exercises you can do without an app Trump really wants you to believe he came up with 'fake news' David Dobrik steps down from his hyped photo app Dispo amid Vlog Squad allegations Rocket League's epic car soccer is going mobile with 'Sideswipe' This pumpkin carver made a Steve Buscemi pumpkin for Halloween Newly released JFK files plagued by bad handwriting Don't fall for this Royal Mail text message scam 7 best apps for making quick GIFs on your phone Tesla stans dunk on Porsche Taycan’s slow software update PBS makes 'Asian Americans' doc free to stream after Atlanta shootings 'Godzilla vs. Kong' draws early Twitter praise for epic monster battles Kevin Spacey officially comes out amid allegations of sexual misconduct Couple avoids 'Stranger Things' spoilers by signing a contract Alexander Skarsgård shaved his head, is obviously still hot Every 'Into the Dark' horror movie on Hulu ranked
1.4559s , 8224.84375 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Maid Pension: Erotic Services From MZ Girls】,Pursuit Information Network