San Francisco (AFP)

Airbnb revealed Monday that it has banned 1.3 million people from its platform since 2016 for "refusing to treat others without prejudice", an announcement which is part of a series of measures taken by American companies in reaction to anti movements -racism.

The accommodation booking platform, for tourist or professional stays, took stock of the initiatives already in place and those to come in terms of combating discrimination, especially when landlords refuse potential tenants by racism.

"We all have prejudices. But companies like Airbnb can create tools that help prevent people from making decisions based on these prejudices," the Californian company said in a statement.

It specifies in particular that the profile photos of the clients are not disclosed to the hosts until after the confirmation of the reservation, to "encourage more objective decisions".

Its "anti-discrimination" team will now lead a new initiative in the United States, called "project lighthouse".

It aims to "flush out, assess and overcome" discrimination in the booking process on the platform.

It is a question of making anonymous research on the perception of origins from the photos and names of people, and of determining when and how racial discrimination takes place.

Airbnb is working with civil society associations to carry out this study and ensure that it respects privacy.

Several American companies have taken action to combat discrimination in response to protests against police violence, sparked by the death of George Floyd, an African American killed by a white police officer in late May.

They have taken on a much broader dimension and are now calling on societies and individuals to fight racism on their own scale.

Adidas, for example, has promised that 30% of new hires in the United States will be black or of Latin American origin.

Twitter made June 19, the US holiday to commemorate the abolition of slavery, a public holiday in the United States, while Apple launched a "racial equity and justice" initiative with 100 millions of dollars.

© 2020 AFP