Airbnb revealed Monday that it has banned 1.3 million people from its platform since 2016 for "refusing to treat others without prejudice." This announcement is part of a series of measures taken by American companies in response to anti-racist movements.
The online accommodation reservation platform has thus taken stock of the initiatives already in place and those to come in terms of combating discrimination, especially when landlords refuse potential tenants out of racism.
An "anti-discrimination" team
The company specifies that profile photos of customers are not disclosed to hosts until confirmation of the reservation, to "encourage more objective decisions".
In addition, an "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.
Big companies take action
Several American companies have also 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. Adidas, for example, has promised that 30% of new hires in the United States will be black or of Latin American origin.
The accommodation platform is not the only one in Silicon valley to have made commitments against racism recently. 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, endowed with 100 millions of dollars.
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- United States
- Racism
- Airbnb