Inquiry into Airbnb Ireland UC - 28 September 2023

• Year: 2023
• Section: Decisions made under data protection act 2018

Inquiry into Airbnb Ireland UC - 28 September 2023

Date of Decision: 28 September 2023

On 28 September 2023, following an inquiry concerning a complaint received against Airbnb Ireland UC (Airbnb), the Data Protection Commission (the DPC) adopted a decision.

The DPC had commenced this inquiry on 7 September 2022, on foot of a complaint that Airbnb had unlawfully requested a copy of the Complainant’s ID (ID) in order to verify their identity in order to complete a booking on the platform. The complainant stated that he had concerns in relation to identity theft given the volume of personal data that he was required to submit in order to complete his accommodation booking. In this particular instance the complainant stated that Airbnb would not accept his booking until he verified his identity by providing a copy of his ID in addition to a newly taken photograph to ensure that the ID related only to the person making the booking. ID submitted by the Complainant was rejected as he had redacted certain information. Ultimately however the Complainant was successfully able to verify his identity by submitting a copy of his ID with only the online access code redacted.

In a further submission the Complainant stated that Airbnb initially misunderstood what he wanted to do and thought he wanted to erase his Airbnb account. He stated that Airbnb requested another copy of ID. In addition to the complaint regarding ID verification the Complainant also wanted Airbnb to delete his ID card, both redacted and unredacted versions.

The scope of the inquiry concerned an examination and assessment of the following:

1. Whether Airbnb had a lawful basis for...