From CNET: Airbnb suffered a loss on Tuesday when a federal judge rejected the company's plea to change a San Francisco law that requires the home-rental company to block or remove hosts who haven't registered with the city.
Airbnb sued the city of San Francisco in June saying the city law violates federal laws, including the Communications Decency Act, the Stored Communications Act and the First Amendment. On Tuesday, US District Judge James Donato ruled this wasn't the case, according to Reuters.
This decision could have major repercussions for Airbnb. The home-rental company, which now has more than 2 million listings in nearly 200 countries, has used similar arguments in its battles with other cities, including New York. Additionally, lawmakers throughout the US are looking to San Francisco to set an example of how to regulate the eight-year-old startup.
San Francisco passed a law officially legalizing Airbnb in 2014, but since then some city officials and residents have tried to tighten these rules. Critics accuse Airbnb of contributing to tighter housing markets, with landlords taking rental units off the market to capitalize on short-term rentals. The current debate is over an amendment to that original law.
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