Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law v. Craigslist

The Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law ("CLC") sued craigslist for violations of the Fair Housing Act ("FHA") arising from its users' postings of allegedly discriminatory housing ads on the popular classfied advertising site.

Craigslist hosts ads posted by its users on websites in many cities, including Chicago. In the CLC's complaint, it cited a number of ads for housing sales and rentals that included references to gender, race, national origin, and/or religion it claimed were prohibited by the FHA.

On April 14, 2006, craigslist filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that section 230 of the Communication Decency Act ("CDA 230") provides total immunity against the CLC's FHA claims. The CLC opposed the motion, arguing that Craigslist was not entitled to immunity under CDA 230 because it failed to make a good-faith effort to screen the offending ads.

In November 2006, the district court granted craigslist's motion and dismissed the case.  The court held that CDA 230 protects providers of interactive computer services from claims that require a finding that the provider published third-party content. Because the FHA bans publication of discriminatory advertisements, the court reasoned that craigslist cannot be liable for FHA violations of its users pursuant to CDA 230.

The CLC appealed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which affirmed the lower court's ruling in March 2008.