Airbnb is facing serious allegations from former contractor Jess Hernandez, who claims the company has significantly reduced its efforts to remove extremist users from its platform. Hernandez, who served as an investigations analyst on Airbnb’s dangerous organizations team, alleges she was terminated in November 2023 after her team was instructed to reinstate users involved in the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack.
In May, Hernandez filed a whistleblower complaint with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, represented by Whistleblower Aid. She claims Airbnb spent much of 2023 undermining her team’s work, which was tasked with removing individuals affiliated with dangerous and extremist organizations. According to Whistleblower Aid, Airbnb’s actions “privately abandoned its public commitment to its hosts’ and guests’ safety and security.”
Airbnb disputes Hernandez’s claims, asserting that it continues to enforce policies against members of dangerous or extremist organizations. The company, with over 5 million hosts and more than 132 million bookings in the first quarter of 2024, has continually faced safety concerns.
• 2016: Airbnb introduced a commitment for members to accept people regardless of race, religion, nationality, and other characteristics.
• 2017: The company removed accounts associated with the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
• 2021: Following the January 6 attack, Airbnb removed numerous individuals involved and canceled reservations in the Washington DC area during inauguration week.
In 2023, Airbnb was criticized by conservative media for removing the parents of far-right activist Lauren Southern from the platform. The company quickly reversed this decision, calling it a “mistake.” Hernandez claims that during this time, her team’s work was hindered by additional review requirements from legal, communications, and community policy departments.
“Our hands were tied — we weren’t removing people,” Hernandez told NBC. Prior to her tenure at Airbnb, Hernandez worked for the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium, which tracks terrorist and hate groups.
The whistleblower complaint casts doubt on Airbnb’s commitment to safety and its approach to handling extremist users. As Airbnb continues to expand, these allegations may lead to increased scrutiny from regulators and the public, challenging the company’s policies and practices regarding user safety and security.