AirBnB to hand user data over to AG

From the Huffington Post:

Airbnb has announced it will turn over user data -- anonymized, for now -- to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

But if Schneiderman suspects an Airbnb host of illegal activity, the company will turn over detailed user information from name to social media accounts to Tax ID number and more, Gawker reports.

The decision comes as part of a joint agreement reached Wednesday between Airbnb and the state, which have engaged in a highly publicized battle over the legality of the popular home rental company. Schneiderman says Airbnb users routinely violate laws prohibiting residents from renting out their apartments for less than 30 days, leaving New York out of millions of dollars in hotel taxes.

Schneiderman's office issued a subpoena for the records back in October, but Airbnb officials had fought to keep them private. As part of the agreement, user data will initially be substituted with individual codes.