A national survey conducted on behalf of a hotel association shows Americans support changing federal law to eliminate loopholes short-term rental sites use to avoid complying with local laws.
Three in four Americans (76 percent) say short-term rental sites should be held accountable for complying with local laws. A similar number (73 percent) favor an amendment to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) to stop companies such as Airbnb and HomeAway from using federal law to skirt compliance with state and local ordinances, the Morning Consult survey found.
Online web sites and social media platforms claim CDA Section 230 gives them protection from third-party users publishing information to their sites. Companies have invoked the law to sue city governments nationwide for enacting ordinances requiring short-term rental sites to remove profitable, but illegal rental listings.
“For far too long, these Big Tech short-term rental platforms have been hiding behind this antiquated law in order to bully and threaten legal action against local elected officials who are simply trying to protect their residents from illegal rentals that are destroying neighborhoods,” Chip Rogers, president and CEO at American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), said in a news release.
