A California Democrat is urging Airbnb to take action against hosts who appear to be discriminating against minority customers.
Rep. Eric Swalwell said that he hoped the company “will act against any host demonstrating a pattern of discrimination,” in a statement first reported on Wednesday night by BuzzFeed.
Swalwell, who has been active on issues related to the on-demand economy, said the impact of bias was a “constant concern” for companies in the field, which include firms like Uber and Lyft.
{mosads}“Any discrimination must be addressed immediately and decisively,” he said.
His comments came after Airbnb’s director of diversity, David King, said in a blog post that the company was working to respond to allegations of racial discrimination against guests.
“We realize these goals will be difficult to reach and we have a lot to learn, as we are confronting an age-old problem,” King said in the blog post. “While no single company is going to eliminate discrimination in the world, we have long been committed to fighting discrimination and working to eliminate unconscious bias on our platform.”
King said the company was offering more unconscious bias training and planning to better highlight guests’ ratings. He also said the company’s “data science teams will closely examine machine learning models and other tech tools we can use to help enforce our anti-discrimination policy.”
Swalwell was supportive of King’s comments.
“I’m heartened to hear that Airbnb reportedly plans to expand its educational outreach on inclusion to more of its hosts, and has hired a new director of diversity and belonging to seek other ways to ensure all potential guests are treated fairly,” he said.
The company has been under increased scrutiny recently as stories of discrimination against black Airbnb guests circulate on social media. Many describe being turned down for lodging by Airbnb hosts, who can see a potential guest’s profile photo.