Airbnb Vows to Take Action Against Account Holders Tied to D.C. Violence

Airbnb pledged to take action against account holders who are members of hate groups, or who've been tied to alleged illegal actions during last week's violent attacks in Washington, D.C.

The homesharing giant announced a seven-point plan tied to ridding the platform of hate-group members and protecting the U.S. Capitol ahead of President-elect Joseph Biden's January 20 inauguration.

The company said, among other measures, that it would cross-reference Washington, D.C. arrest logs of January 6, the day pro-Trump mobs invaded the Capitol, and would take counter-measures, including banning from the Airbnb platform those connected to the violence.

Airbnb didn't provide numbers, but said it has indeed banned users who committed violent acts or were arrested because of actions in Washington, D.C. last week.

"We are reviewing reservations in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area," Airbnb stated Monday. "If we confirm that any guests are associated with a hate group or otherwise not allowed on our platform for violating certain community policies prohibiting violence or engaging in criminal activity, we will cancel those reservations and ban them from Airbnb."

Airbnb stated that it has implemented such trust and safety measures since the 2017 white-supremacist demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, and characterized its actions as "a Capitol safety plan for the Inauguration."

Other elements of the plan include its ongoing practice of running background checks on all U.S. users before allowing bookings, and warning users and their guests that Airbnb make take legal action against them if they are members of hate groups or are planning violence or breaching Airbnb policies.