View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Fordham University School of Law Fordham Law Review Volume 87 Issue 6 Article 11 2019 Airbnb in New York City: Whose Privacy Rights are Threatened by a Government Data Grab? Tess Hofmann Fordham University School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr Part of the Fourth Amendment Commons, and the Privacy Law Commons Recommended Citation Tess Hofmann, Airbnb in New York City: Whose Privacy Rights are Threatened by a Government Data Grab?, 87 Fordham L. Rev. 2589 (2019). Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol87/iss6/11 This Note is brought to you for free and open access by FLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. It has been accepted for inclusion in Fordham Law Review by an authorized editor of FLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. AIRBNB IN NEW YORK CITY: WHOSE PRIVACY RIGHTS ARE THREATENED BY A GOVERNMENT DATA GRAB? Tess Hofmann* New York City regulators have vigorously resisted the rise of Airbnb as an alternative to traditional hotels, characterizing “home sharing” as a trend that is sucking up permanent housing in a city already facing an affordability crisis. However, laws banning short-term rentals have done little to discourage this practice, as Airbnb’s policy of keeping user information private makes it possible for illegal operators to evade law enforcement. Frustrated by this power imbalance, the New York City Council passed Local Law 146, which requires Airbnb to provide city officials with access to the names and information of its home sharing hosts on a monthly basis to assist with law enforcement efforts.