- Zahingir Alam Last Update: July 28, 2016

Couchsurfing International Inc. is a hospitality exchange and social networking website. The website provides a platform for members to “surf” on couches by staying as a guest at a host’s home, host travelers, or join an event. Couchsurfing International Inc refers to two separate legal entities. The first was founded in 2003 as a non-profit organization, and was liquidated in 2011. Its assets were sold to the private for-profit corporation Better World Through Travel, later renamed Couchsurfing International, Inc. which defines itself as “a mission-driven for-profit corporation”. As of August 2012, the company has raised $22.6 million in investment capital, while reporting no revenue Membership and site Registration is free of charge, but an annual “verification” payment of $25 is persistently encouraged. Members are asked to provide information and photos of themselves and of the accommodation they offer, if any. More information provided by a member, and other members, improves the chances that someone will find the member trustworthy enough to be their host or guest. Members looking for accommodation can search for hosts using several parameters such as age, location, gender and last login. Homestays are consensual between the host and guest, and the duration, nature, and terms of the guest’s stay are generally worked out in advance.

 

No monetary exchange takes place except sometimes for compensation of incurred expenses . It is common practice for guests to seek non-monetary means to show their appreciation, such as bringing a gift, cooking a meal or teaching a skill. Terms of Use controversyIn September 2012 Couchsurfing updated its terms of use. These were criticized by many members of the community. The German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Peter Schaar, publicly criticized the terms of use and informed the US Federal Trade Commission about the serious shortcomings in the Terms of Use.Schaar has stated that these terms would be inadmissible under German and European data protection law. “Under the new Terms of Use, by uploading contents such as news, photos and personal data, the members grant the company Couchsurfing a full and irrevocable license to a quasi unlimited use of those contents. Moreover, in the Privacy Policy, the company reserves the right to share data with third parties and to change the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy at any time, without having to provide specific notice to the members about any changes.”

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