Airbnb said in a statement that it is planning to bar individuals involved in the January 6 US Capitol attack and those with ties to hate groups from booking rooms on its platform as part of its “Capitol Safety Plan for the Inauguration.”
The company says it will review reservations made in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. If any guest is confirmed to be associated with a hate group (or engaging in violence or criminal activity), their reservation will be canceled and they will be banned from Airbnb.
“When we learn through media or law enforcement sources the names of individuals confirmed to have been responsible for the violent criminal activity at the United States Capitol on January 6, we investigate whether the named individuals have an account on Airbnb,” the vacation-rental giant said.
To identify people who need to be banned, Airbnb is cross-referencing the January 6 arrest logs of the DC Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
“If the individuals have an Airbnb account, we take action, which includes banning them from using Airbnb,” the statement added.
The San Francisco-based platform also said it has been removing guests linked to violent and discriminatory hate groups in advance of specific events since 2017, when a deadly white supremacist protest took place in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Airbnb also took action “ahead of the horrific attack on Congress, by cancelling reservations and removing accounts associated with hate group members, including Proud Boys,” according to the statement.
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