Report: Airbnb uses "secretive" algorithm to judge if users are trustworthy

Airbnb secretly collects and feeds users’ personal data into an algorithm that assesses whether they are trustworthy enough to make a booking, according to a consumer group investigation.

Australian consumer rights organisation CHOICE discovered that Airbnb employs an algorithm that evaluates users' trustworthiness based on a variety of personal data, including social media activity and online behavior. The assessment reportedly includes factors not connected with their rental history, such as language used in communications, past behaviours, and associations with certain topics deemed risky.

The discovery prompted concerns that the algorithm could jeopardise user privacy, unfairly penalise individuals based on subjective or biased data, and could lead to discriminatory outcomes - something seen as particularly troubling for marginalised communities who might be disproportionately affected. 

Some commentators felt the system was similar to "social scoring" - when an automated system assesses a person's trustworthiness or likely future behaviour.

CHOICE also took Airbnb to task for poor transparency on how the algorithm functions and the criteria it uses to judge users. Users in Australia complained about not being informed why they had been banned from the platform.