In reply to Heather Burns.

That's a great link Heather. Ironically I agree that businesses like

AirBnB whose partners post commercial listings should be liable for tax

and the regulations of their sector (whether hotellerie or transport).

The distinction between a news platform and a profitable service

business is pretty clear. Judge James Donato in California did a great

job of finding the line.

Except that James Donato, a US District Court Judge for

California’s Northern District, didn’t see it that way. In November

2016, he dealt a major setback to Airbnb when he rejected the

company’s request to block the ordinance. Donato didn’t buy

Airbnb’s Section 230 argument. As he put it, San Francisco’s

ordinance doesn’t treat Airbnb as the publisher of illegal rental

listings, nor does it force Airbnb to police its website and remove such

listings. It simply holds Airbnb accountable for its own conduct:

providing “booking services” in connection with unregistered

units.

Defending free speech should not mean shielding illegal commerce.