In The New York Times, Kristen Clarke writes about her experience as an African-American user of AirBNB:

Though August marks the off-season for tourism in Buenos Aires, I was rejected by the first three hosts I contacted. One host listed the days in question as available but nonetheless claimed my request overlapped with another reservation; another declined without explanation; and a third got back to me after a long delay, claiming to have missed my request. While my fourth request was accepted, the overall experience was a sour one. I am African-American, and because Airbnb strongly recommends display of a profile picture (which I provided) and requires its users to display an actual name, it was hard to believe that race didn’t come into play.

And, she says, it’s not just her:

My experience is hardly unique. This year, the issue of Airbnb discrimination has received considerable attention, especially after African-American users of the service began sharing stories similar to mine on social media using the hashtag AirbnbWhileBlack. A recent study by Harvard Business School researchers found that requests from Airbnb guests with distinctively African-American names were 16 percent less likely to be accepted than those with white-sounding names.

Let us give Clarke the benefit of the doubt and assume that her casual accusation is correct and that four Argentinian Airbnb hosts (or, at least, some of them; details, details) turned her down because she is black. Then, let us further grant that her experience is corroborated by a study that finds state-side discrimination based not on race, but on names that correlate with race (which, I can’t help but note, wouldn’t have affected Clarke). Let’s even go the extra mile and assume that her subsequent suggestions that AirBNB should actively police its hosts for discrimination is actually a good idea and will lead to less racial strife. If we do all that, what do we make of her final recommendation?

Third, Airbnb should stop having users display an actual name or profile picture before booking; that information should be withheld until a reservation has been confirmed. (Airbnb has a feature called Instant Book, which does not give hosts the discretion to reject guests for available dates; by making that feature mandatory, the company could limit the influence of names and pictures.)

Yes, let’s force those racists admit us to their homes, rather than let them hide behind shallow lies and forgo our money. Because that’s what freedom looks like and, of course, it won’t ever be used in ways that Clarke finds objectionable.