Govt requesting for private hosting data from AirBnb

[Benjamin792]

Hey all,

Toronto recently passed a bylaw for all AirBnb hosts to be licensed and limit the number of days they can have guests. Many cities in the surrounding areas are following suit. I don't have an issue with being licensed, but part of the municipal agreement was that Airbnb passes private info on hosts to them. The info includes what days the unit was rented, how much was paid, how many guests attended, what type of unit it is, and more. As we know data is super valuable in the world we live in now. I feel like this request by the government is infringing on the rights of privacy for the people (4th amendment in the US and Section 8 in the Canadian Charter) which protects against unreasonable searches. I wanted to know what some of you thought on this.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Benjamin792 I am actually in favour of Airbnb declaring all earnings to governments as it deals with those hosts who do not pay their taxes properly. If everyone paid taxes as they are supposed to we would all either pay lower taxes or have better public services.

[Benjamin792]

Thanks for your input. Yeah, I don't mind paying taxes and enforcing that everyone else does. This is more for the large amounts of private consumer data that is being passed to them that I see infringing. I am all for cleaning up AirBnB so hosts aren't just booking everyone who requests. There is some shady activity with some hosts, but I don't think data surveillance of everyone is the answer. It could set a bad precedent for everyone e-commerce companies going forward. 

[Tom2861]

Been in the hotel world for 30 years.  Standard operating procedure.  Think you will see this more and more in the future from municipalities and it's really not a bad thing.  So many hosts have no idea what they are doing and it can be dangerous for the guests and the neighborhoods.  

Curious as to what right you think you are losing by reporting data?  

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Benjamin792 , Im less concerned about the collection as I am the usage.  I suspect Airbnb's disclosures and sharing with China have actually cost lives of innocent people,  Airbnb owes those lost souls an explanation that wont be forthcoming nor return them their freedom.  Its doubtful that Canada will put citizens in concentration camps via the newly shared data but I am still hesitant to help Government enforce tax law, that's Governments job and they seem to not even wish to do the rudimentary searches that could easily net them the taxes they say are due.    I have personally  inquired with our local tax collector to see why I am one of the only lodging providers in our county that lists bed taxes on the airbnb site in our county.  She asked me to identify businesses that were not paying and I told her to do a local search herself in 20 seconds or less, I didn't feel comfortable being a squealer in a small population county.  Just my feelings, Stay well, JR