Vancouver housing activist Rohana Rezel has had a beef with Airbnb and the City of Vancouver for years, and a B.C. Supreme Court ruling this week means there91裸聊视频檚 no end in sight.
Rezel had made Freedom of Information requests to the city in 2019, seeking information about the hosts of short-term rentals. But the city and the company resisted, saying it could harm property owners, and make them susceptible to violence and even stalking.
British Columbia91裸聊视频檚 Information and Privacy Commissioner agreed in part, but ordered the city to release information to Rezel including 91裸聊视频渓icence numbers of individuals on the Airbnb platform, home addresses of all hosts in the City; and the licence numbers associated with those addresses.91裸聊视频�
Airbnb objected to the city releasing the information and sought a judicial review in B.C. Supreme Court last year.
This week, Justice Jasvinder Basran sided with the company, ordering the privacy commissioner to reconsider its decision, and notify hosts whose information is at stake.
For Rezel, Airbnb hosts in Vancouver are 91裸聊视频渁 select group of people to run a business in such secrecy.91裸聊视频�
He said he wanted to uncover information about short-term rentals because people should be able to know if they91裸聊视频檝e been evicted to make way for an Airbnb, and they should know if they91裸聊视频檙e living next to one.
91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檝e been helping a lot of people who91裸聊视频檝e been evicted to make way for Airbnb and a lot of the times people don91裸聊视频檛 even know that the reason that they have been evicted is because of Airbnb,91裸聊视频� Rezel said in an interview on Thursday.
91裸聊视频淧eople suspect that, but they have no way of knowing that for sure and they would come to me and (have) to use indirect means to figure that out.91裸聊视频�
Rezel said the City of Vancouver91裸聊视频檚 reluctance to release information about hosts and their short-term rentals makes it difficult to prove a wrongful eviction.
91裸聊视频淣ow imagine if this data was publicly available,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淭hen if you get an eviction notice, three months later you can look this up and you can see well, they evicted me, but then they applied for a license.91裸聊视频�
Airbnb this week won its case to have Rezel91裸聊视频檚 request reconsidered, but the activist had no involvement in the case, identified only as a 91裸聊视频淛ohn Doe Requester.91裸聊视频�
He said the company had sought costs involved in the judicial review, which he wouldn91裸聊视频檛 have been able to cover if he91裸聊视频檇 participated.
An affidavit submitted to the privacy commissioner by the city had described social media posts that were 91裸聊视频渙bscene, aggressive, and threatening91裸聊视频� toward operators of short-term rentals, to demonstrate the potential harm from releasing the information.
The judge91裸聊视频檚 decision says the privacy commissioner wrongly classified home addresses as business information rather than personal information since Airbnb hosts run home-based businesses in their principal residences.
The privacy commissioner91裸聊视频檚 finding that licence numbers 91裸聊视频渁re personal information, but principal residence addresses are not, is confounding,91裸聊视频� Basran wrote.
91裸聊视频淭he latter has a much closer connection to the personal lives and details of the hosts. (Short-term rental licence) numbers, hosts91裸聊视频� principal residence addresses, and the acknowledged ability of anyone to find the names of individual hosts, in and of itself, constitutes the disclosure of a wide range of personal information,91裸聊视频� the ruling states. 91裸聊视频淭aken cumulatively, it would enable the discovery of a treasure trove of personal information.91裸聊视频�
Rezel said he was disappointed by the ruling, which means he91裸聊视频檒l have to wait even longer to see if he can access information about short-term rentals in Vancouver in the midst of a housing crisis.
91裸聊视频淚 firmly believe that you can91裸聊视频檛 have one set of businesses that are playing by the rules and then another set of businesses that are able to operate in secrecy,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 almost as if it91裸聊视频檚 a two-tier system.91裸聊视频�
Airbnb did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the court ruling.
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