Dating site, DontDateHimGirl.com, isn’t the only website in trouble for information its users post. The DontDateHimGirl.com lawsuit is about whether users can post

The Fair Housing Act is “a law that prohibits discrimination in all facets of the homebuying process on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability.” (FCIC)

Like DontDateHimGirl.com, Craigslist defended itself with the 1996 Communications Decency Act, saying that internet service providers are immune from liability for postings by users. The case is scheduled to be heard in August.

Google, Amazon.com, AOL and Yahoo recently filed an amicus brief in the U.S. district court case in Chicago in support of Craigslist, but if the Roomates.com case is the precedent, Craigslist should have an easy victory.

In September 2004, the 9th Circuit Court sided with Roommates.com:

The Ninth Circuit’s decision in Carafano compels the conclusion that Roommate cannot be liable for violating the FHA arising out of the nicknames chosen by its users, the free-form comments provided by the users, or the users’ responses to the multiple choice questionnaire. Plaintiffs’ federal claims against Roommate are therefore barred by the CDA. This result does not, however, leave Plaintiffs without a remedy under the fair housing laws. Any individual user of Roommate’s service who posts discriminatory preferences is not shielded from liability by the CDA. The users who posted the descriptions and preferences of which Plaintiffs complain are responsible for the content they have provided.

That case is being appealed right now, so it’s possible that it could be overturned in the future.

Source: Law.com, Technology & Marketing Law Blog