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When new technology comes out and upsets a monopoly, there is always a push back. The classified newspaper market has dominated the rental and housing classified markets until Craigslist took over. Now those that want the government to be active in the marketplace, and odds on a few newspaper publishers in the background, want Craigslist to be put under a regulatory environment. They feel that discriminatory regulations are not being properly enforced.
A Chicago fair housing group has sued groundbreaking Web site Craigslist for allegedly publishing discriminatory advertisements, a case that could test the legal liabilities of online ad venues.
The suit is part of an emerging attempt by housing watchdogs nationally to hold online classified sites to the same strict standards as the publishers of print classifieds, such as newspapers.
The suit is potentially significant because it suggests that the rules for an Internet site should be the same as for a traditional publisher, in which every ad should be vetted to conform with the law. But that notion contradicts the way the Internet has blossomed, where informal communities tend to police themselves and free expression is valued. via South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
