## Facts

- Craigslist operated an online classified-ads website where users could post housing rental advertisements without prior editorial screening.
- User-posted housing ads sometimes contained facially discriminatory statements (e.g., “NO MINORITIES,” “No children,” and religious or gender-based limitations).
- Craigslist provided categories and search tools, did not require or prompt discriminatory content, and did not author the ads.
- Craigslist relied largely on user reporting (“flagging”) and removed postings that violated its policies or the Fair Housing Act after notice, but declined to pre-screen ads given the volume of postings and limited staff.
- A civil-rights organization sued, alleging Craigslist “made, printed, or published” or “caused” discriminatory housing advertisements in violation of Fair Housing Act (FHA) § 3604(c).

## Issues

1. Whether an online classified-ad service can be liable under FHA § 3604(c) for discriminatory housing advertisements authored and posted by third parties.
2. Whether imposing FHA § 3604(c) liability on an interactive computer service for third-party content treats it as the “publisher or speaker” of that information, barred by Communications Decency Act (CDA) § 230(c)(1).
3. Whether Craigslist’s design features (categories and searchability) amount to developing or materially contributing to the unlawful content so as to remove § 230 protection.

## Decision

- The Seventh Circuit affirmed judgment for Craigslist.
- Craigslist was not liable under FHA § 3604(c) for discriminatory housing ads created and posted by users.
- CDA § 230(c)(1) barred treating Craigslist as the publisher or speaker of third-party advertisements.
- The court indicated that enforcement for discriminatory advertising should target the advertisers and housing providers responsible for the content and discriminatory conduct.

## Legal Principles

- CDA § 230(c)(1) prevents treating a provider of an interactive computer service as the publisher or speaker of information provided by another information content provider.
- Statutory claims that depend on assigning publisher liability for third-party content are precluded by § 230, even if the underlying statute uses broad terms such as “publish” or “cause to be published.”
- Providing neutral tools (such as categories and search functions) and hosting user-generated postings, without inducing or developing the unlawful content, does not make the service a content provider of the discriminatory statements.
- FHA § 3604(c) remains enforceable against those who author, place, or otherwise are responsible for discriminatory housing advertisements and discriminatory housing decisions, rather than against a neutral intermediary hosting the ads.

## Conclusion

The court held that Craigslist could not be held liable under the Fair Housing Act for discriminatory housing advertisements posted by users because CDA § 230 immunizes interactive computer services from being treated as the publisher of third-party content; liability properly rests with the advertisers and housing providers who create and use discriminatory notices.


Chi. Laws.’ Comm. for C.R. Under L., Inc. v. Craigslist, Inc., 519 F.3d 666 (7th Cir. 2008)