A group of Chicago lawyers sued Craigslist ([1] www.craigslist.org), the popular classified ads Web site, in 2006 because some of its housing notices illegally discriminate on the basis of race, gender, religion, and ethnicity. Various ads say “no minorities” or “no children.” Declaring such preferences violates the U.S. Fair Housing Act and would be illegal in a newspaper.

But a three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals found that Craigslist is not the publisher of these ads as a newspaper would be, and thus is not liable for discriminatory housing ads posted on the site. Instead, the Web site is more like an intermediary, carrying information from one person to another and, therefore, not liable for its content, the panel said in a ruling that upholds a lower court decision. The attorneys “cannot sue the messenger just because the message reveals a third party’s plan to engage in unlawful discrimination,” Judge Frank Easterbrook concluded. He suggested the attorneys instead use Craigslist to find landlords with discriminatory ads, and then forward their names to the state’s attorney general for prosecution.

The decision is a victory for the free Internet bulletin board, where every month more than 30 million people post offers to buy, sell, or rent goods and services, including housing. Current housing listings on Craigslist are now posted with this warning: “Stating a discriminatory preference in a housing post is illegal. Please flag discriminatory posts as prohibited.”

The San Francisco-based company is run by fewer than 30 people but offers classified ads and forums for more than 300 cities in the United States alone.