Europe's highest court has said that Airbnb Ireland should be not be restricted by French law in providing accommodation services, in a legal opinion which could have significant consequences for how the so-called sharing economy is regulated.The full judgement is expected later in the year.
A criminal case was taken by the French Public Prosecutor's Office against Airbnb for two alleged breaches of the law in March 2017. Airbnb argued that its commercial activities in matching property owners with those seeking accommodation did not amount to a real estate brokerage activity. Today Advocate General Maciej Szupunar published an opinion that Airbnb Ireland should be regarded as providing an "information society service" under the terms of the E-Commerce directive.