REPOST: Chicago Appeals Court Affirms Craigslist Protected Against Discriminatory Housing Ad Charges.

[Reposted to correct link to Opinion file and to add additional link to .MP3 audio file of oral arguments made in this appeals court decision].

The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago, in an opinion HERE, has upheld an earlier lower court ruling that Craigslist was protected against discrimination charges from discriminatory housing ads placed on their service. An .MP3 audio file of the oral arguments on this case can be found HERE.

A SF Chronicle story HERE explains the background and why the Craigslist ads were not protected by housing discrimination law: "Among the housing ads cited as objectionable in the suit were ones that read "NO MINORITIES," "Requirements: Clean Godly Christian Male" and "Only Muslims apply." But the appeals court, upholding a federal district court judge's decision, said Craigslist is only an intermediary and is protected by the Communications Decency Act, which allows interactive Web sites to display others' messages without being responsible for their contents."

The Chronicle story also notes that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco is still considering a similar case concerning a different online ad service.