Lyft has expanded to 60 US cities and had hoped make it 61 with the addition of New York City last Friday. However, NYC has declared Lyft an "unauthorized service" and threatened legal consequences if the ride-share app launched. Lyft held off as long as they could before announcing they would work with the Taxi and Limousine Commission:

"Today we agreed in New York State Supreme Court to put off the launch of Lyft's peer-to-peer model in New York City and we will not proceed with this model unless it complies with New York City Taxi and Limousine regulations. We will meet with the TLC beginning Monday to work on a new version of Lyft that is fully-licensed by the TLC, and we will launch immediately upon the TLC's approval."

Lyft assured the public that there was no TRO (temporary restraining order) or injunction, but that everyone agreed to meet Monday if Lyft held off on their launch. Wall Street Journal reports that the decision was less nonchalant than Lyft lets on. They state that familiar face, New York Attorney General Eric. T, Schneiderman (from the Airbnb's subpoena in NYC earlier this year) and plaintiff Benjamin Lawsky, filed court papers on Lyft's original launch date in order to stop the company from operating in the state.

"Lyft's arguments are a disingenuous attempt to disguise old-fashioned lawbreaking that jeopardizes public safety," Messrs. Schneiderman and Lawsky said in a news release. Schneiderman is no new face to opposition of the shared economy and knows that NYC will set a standard for other cities worldwide.

Lyft's competition Uber, managed to get licensed in NYC after initially launching without the TLC's approval. Some have speculated that this was because Uber had recently hired Ashwini Chhabra, the then TLC deputy commissioner for policy and planning. Many within the taxi industry find this to be very suspicious:

"About 4-5 weeks ago, [we] ... accused Ashwini of working for Uber presently and in the past," Evgeny Freidman, who owns one of the largest taxi fleets in New York, wrote to TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi shortly after Chhabra's hire, according to the New York Observer. "I would insist as a major stake holder in this industry ‎that the TLC open a [Department of Investigation] investigation into this matter."

However, several industry experts believe that Chhabra's hiring had nothing to do with Uber's licensing but rather that Uber agreed to play by the TLC's rules, which up until now, Lyft has refused to do. Uber has embraced regulations and operates only with city-licensed vehicles. TLC spokesman, Russell Murphy states:

"From our perspective, … Lyft is unique from Uber in a larger sense because they’re not following TLC regulations. Uber, at least from what the TLC says and what Uber says, is following all the regulations,"

So yet another legal battle to watch in the sharing economy. Let us know what you think, will NYC grant Lyft a license? Or use them to set an example for other "unauthorized services"? To read more check out the Business Insider article on Why NYC's Lyft Crackdown Probably Isn't Linked To Uber and Wall Street Journal's coverage of Friday's decision.

This week New York State's attorney general Eric T. Schneiderman, succeeded in obtaining a subpoena for anonymized data on New York Airbnb hosts. Schneiderman recently targeted the housing-rental site stating that some hosts are "large, commercial enterprises with dozens of apartments - truly illegal hotels". This was Schneiderman's second attempt to get Airbnb records as the first deemed over-broad by a New York Supreme Court Justice. Schneiderman narrowed his focus and submitted a new subpoena the next day which was approved Wednesday.

The attorney will have a year to sort through the data and identify those in violation of local laws. Scheiderman has stated that he only plans to pursue anyone who's running illegal hotels. If his office finds something suspicious, Airbnb must identify the host. Airbnb's head of global public policy, David Hantman, called it "a strong agreement that best protects our community's data and sets us on a positive path forward."

So far, it looks like both parties are claiming this ruling a victory. We have yet to hear how NY hosts feel about the agreement. For many, inviting a stranger to stay in their home is much more comfortable than opening it up to regulators.

Schneiderman is one of many regulators keeping their eye on the digital economy. He announced his intentions for sites like Airbnb and Uber in a press release last month:

Regulators should not be deterred and, as a practical matter, they can’t and won’t be — we are now living in an online world, one that offers great promise but is also becoming one of the primary crime scenes of the 21st century. Major service providers cannot be allowed to treat it as a digital Wild West. The only question is how long it will take for these cybercowboys to realize that working with the sheriffs is both good business and the right thing to do.

Schneiderman claims that the deal was "a template for other places in the country where the issue has been raised."

Perhaps it will become a worldwide template as Airbnb was also in international news this week as one host ran into legal problems in France. A young man was found guilty of breaking his lease after subletting out his room in Paris for €450 ($613) a week. The man was ordered to pay € 2,842 ($3,872.79) in damages to his landlord.

The judgment – a first involving Airbnb in France – coincides with a wider crackdown by the French government and the Paris town hall on the flourishing market for letting rooms or whole apartments to tourists. It also coincides with the settlement of a legal battle between Airbnb and New York State, which could lead to the prosecution of thousands of people who have defied state laws and let rooms or flats to tourists.

We are curious to see how this plays out. What do you think? Is this an example of over regulation or did Airbnb have this coming? Check out Airbnb's Blog Post on the deal and let us know what you think.