A group of Chicago lawyers may mean well, but they’re trying to fry the wrong fish.

The Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law recently sued Craigslist, an Internet-based community classifieds site, for allegedly running about 100 discriminatory housing ads, according to a March 26 article in the Chicago Tribune.

The lawyers said the Fair Housing Act applies to Web sites just as it does to traditional advertising methods. Congress originally established the act in 1968 to prohibit the publishing of housing ads that state preferences on a number of factors, including race, religion, age and marital status.

The only problem with that assertion is Craigslist doesn’t really “publish” the ads. It doesn’t screen them or edit them. Users can flag other advertisements if they find them offensive, discriminatory or otherwise inappropriate for the site. Administrators review and remove flagged ads. Craigslist is a community-policed public forum.

There is a section of the Communications Decency Act that says an interactive computer service can’t be treated as a publisher of material from other people.

In addition, some of the 100 ads in question aren’t even clearly prohibited by law. One mentions that a property is near a church. Another says, “Great apartment for graduate students, married couple or small family.”

While some of the ads are indeed discriminatory, such as one saying “no minorities,” it is those who post the ads who should be held responsible under the Fair Housing Act.

One would be hard pressed to believe Craigslist tries to perpetuate illegal housing ads. The Web site prominently displays a notice atop the classified housing pages saying that discriminatory housing ads are illegal and should be flagged for removal. The Web site links to information on fair housing laws.

Craigslist doesn’t profit from the illegal ads either. Posting is free and open to anyone.

Users of Craigslist post 2 million free housing ads of unlimited length every month, and it would be impossible for Craigslist to continue in its current free and open format if its few employees were required to read every ad before it could be put online.

The Internet is so wonderful because it’s been relatively unrestricted. Craigslist is nice because anyone can post, view, or flag an ad, not just people with the right amount of money or influence.

And if the courts decide a Web site is responsible for every post or comment made by anyone, then all that precious freedom will be lost forever. Web forums will never be the same.

The penalty of a free exchange of ideas is having to put up with an occasional affront or lack of comfort. Fair housing is important, but Craigslist is not the enemy. The people who sustain discriminatory housing are the real villains.