Since our nation's founding, the freedom and ability to innovate has helped make America great. If Americans see a problem, or they figure out a way to do something better, our laws and principles allow them to pursue their vision.
Case in point: Airbnb. The company's founders noticed that visitors to San Francisco needed more affordable accommodations, so they started a website that allows home and apartment owners to rent their homes to vacationers on a short-term basis.
Today, millions of people from all over the world can travel more cheaply by renting an apartment on Airbnb rather than pay for a more costly hotel room.
But a recent proposal making its way through the US Congress would effectively end innovative websites like Airbnb and give hotel chains a monopoly on the industry.
The Daily Signal reports:
H.R. 4232, the PLAN Act, would strip rental platforms of legal immunity for moderating user comments posted on their websites.
Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act shields blogs, social media platforms, and a variety of internet applications from legal responsibility for much of the content posted by the public, except in criminal matters. This provision enables platforms such as Airbnb, Facebook, and Craigslist to moderate public postings without the risk of legal challenge for user-generated content.
For rental platforms, this means being able to post lodging offerings without first having to verify that users are in compliance with all possible local zoning ordinances, homeowner association restrictions, residency requirements, etc. Now the hotel industry is seeking to compel Airbnb and other rental platforms to remove listings and content in cases where homeowners are reportedly in violation of such rules and restrictions.
The PLAN Act would amend Section 230 to remove liability shields for rental platforms, making them liable in civil suits and subject to prosecution if they fail to remove listings and content that violate local zoning ordinances and other possible restrictions.
It asks that “providers of an interactive computer service” that facilitates “the lease or rental of real property” engage in policing of user-generated content or face liability for lawsuits for “failure to cure the alleged violation.”
It would be patently impossible for an online marketplace to ensure third-party compliance with 50 state laws and rules imposed by tens of thousands of localities. And that’s precisely the point of the bill.
This is classic federal overreach. Rather than foster a spirit of freedom and innovation, Washington is looking to stifle legal businesses (that Americans want) in favor of big-money lobbies.
The feds shouldn't have the power to control entire industries -- to pick winners and losers. Their power should be limited and clearly defined, which is exactly what the Convention of States Project seeks to accomplish.
An Article V Convention of States can propose constitutional amendments that effectively limit the power, scope, and jurisdiction of the federal government. These amendments can put Washington back in its constitutional box by explicitly stating that the feds cannot control any topic not expressly mentioned in the Constitution. A Convention of States can end the tyranny of bureaucratic agencies and unleash the true potential of the American people.
Over four million Americans have voiced their support, and fifteen states have passed the Convention of States Resolution. Sign the petition below to show your support!
