This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Wednesday, December 14th, 2016, I'm Caleb Brown.

And Chicago, a looming regulation could punish homeowners who share their homes on sites like Airbnb.

Among other requirements, anyone who is in Airbnb homes on sites like Airbnb.

Among other requirements, anyone who is an Airbnb host

would be compelled to turn their homes

into so-called public accommodations.

George Sato, an attorney for homeowners, challenging the the rule says it will punish people merely for

providing friendly accommodations to tourists.

One programming note since recording the following podcast, the rule has been

temporarily stayed through the end of February 2017.

The city of Chicago enacted a wide-ranging ordinance to attack or to regulate Airbnb and home sharing on sites like

Airbnb and this is one of the first attempts by a city to directly regulate

social media in essence.

It requires people to register before they can list online on the internet.

It requires, once they register register that people transform their private homes into public accommodations and make substantial repairs and renovations.

This law is almost impossible to comply with.

It provides, gives your neighbors a veto over which guests you can have in your own home.

And that's essentially the questions were raising with our lawsuit.

This lawsuit is also interesting because this was promoted by Airbnb as a model for how other cities might want to regulate home sharing on sites such as Airbnb.

Chris LeHane, who is the head of Airbnb's head strategist for Airbnb and

it's a familiar name to those who followed the presidential campaigns in 2004 and I think

2008.

...