Recently a lawsuit against Craigslist by a Chicago fair housing group has shone a spotlight on the extent to which service providers are liable for third-party content. Remaining provisions of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) protect service providers from the content produced by third parties using their services.

Jim Buckmaster, the chief executive of Craigslist, told the New York Times that imposing liability on the site for its users' postings would ruin it. He's absolutely correct.

Rodney A. Smolla, the dean of the University of Richmond School of Law and the author of "Free Speech in an Open Society," however, told the New York Times that the Internet has matured enough to rethink the protections Congress intended when formulating the CDA.

The brouhaha began after a posting stipulated the following requirements for a roommate situation: "African Americans and Arabians tend to clash with me so that won't work out."

The Chicago fair housing group believes that Craigslist should be liable for discrimination under the federal Fair Housing Act.

While Craigslist is protected under the CDA, the big question that no one seems to be addressing is whether someone seeking a roommate should be held to the same standards as someone trying to rent out an apartment, such as an owner or landlord. In a personal ad, if I'm seeking a sexual or romantic involvement with someone am I not entitled to specify my preference?

At what point does my fucking become equal opportunity?

If I want a roommate that meets certain requirements -- be they gender, sexual orientation, race, nationality, etc. -- which make me feel comfortable, what right does any organization have to tell me who I should live with or with whom I should associate?

If anything, I wonder if the federal Fair Housing Act as applied to individuals who are neither landlords, nor property owners violates that individual's First Amendment rights to both free speech and free association.