Airbnb updating policy to end forced arbitration for sexual harassment cases for guests, hosts

Airbnb said Friday it will change its terms of service so that its arbitration provisions “will no longer apply to sexual assault or sexual harassment claims” by its hosts (the people who rent out their homes on the platform) and guests.

The company said in a statement that “incidents of sexual assault are extremely rare on Airbnb,” and that the upcoming changes would “codify a practice we have already had in place.” Airbnb has not “asked a court fo force any of the very few cases involving sexual assault or sexual harassment claims by hosts or guests into arbitration” since January of 2019, and will continue to not enforce arbitration in such cases until the TOS are updated sometime in the fall.

“We believe that survivors should be...

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