If New York City is given user data from the last seven years, the privacy of scores of hosts and thousands of guests will be compromised, lawyers for Airbnb have argued in opposition to the broad subpoena sought by the city government. Airbnb's bid to foil the subpoena is the latest step in the legal fight between city officials and the home-sharing tech company. Airbnb target of a lawsuit In papers filed on Sunday, Airbnb argues that the wording of the city's subpoena commands that it produce information “well beyond” what it needs to pursue its case against Big Apple—the city's demand affects 76 accounts used to list properties on Airbnb and potentially thousands of guests who were hosted through the accounts, it argues, while only seven are relevant to the suit. “Requesting 'utterly irrelevant' data on the 69 accounts not implicated in the city's lawsuit—and particularly data on the 49 hosts with little to no Airbnb activity at these properties—goes far beyond the pleadings in the case, is irrelevant to the city's claim and improperly seeks to amass data on New Yorkers who had nothing to do with the alleged illegal activities,” the papers state. New York law does not allow for such “fishing expeditions,” the company argues, and the city filed the suit “as soon as possible to garner press attention.” Airbnb is represented in the matter by Nicholas Jackson and Jacob Sommer of ZwillGen. In a written statement, the Office of Special Enforcement said that platforms like Airbnb are witnesses in its investigation into Big Apple and that “witnesses are required to cooperate with subpoenas. “These platforms hold critical information about activity a landlord allowed to flourish in rent-stabilized buildings, jeopardizing some of our most important affordable housing stock and endangering New Yorkers and visitors,” said Christian Klossner, the executive director of the Office of Special Enforcement. “Despite the platform's promise to combat bad actors and despite having provided this information in the past, OSE has been forced to seek the court's assistance to gain compliance from these platforms that have a legal obligation to release the data.” Since 2010, it has been illegal under New York state law to rent out dwellings in multi-family buildings in New York City for less than 30 days, which effectively outlaws Airbnb in much of the city; in recent months, the city appears to have gotten more aggressive in its approach to Airbnb and its hosts. In June, the city filed suit against Big Apple, arguing that it is entitled to $1 million in punitive damages. This month, the city filed suits against Airbnb and TripAdvisor in Manhattan Supreme Court in the days after the New York City Council passed a bill requiring Airbnb to turn over the names and addresses of its hosts, arguing that the companies had yet to comply with subpoenas served as part of the case against Big Apple. In one of the suits, the city says it's operating under a “clear public mandate” to put a stop to attempts to convert permanent residencies into “ersatz” hotels, which it argues reduces the city's housing stock and jeopardizes the safety of New Yorkers and Airbnb guests. On the same day the council passed the legislation with a veto-proof majority, an Airbnb host who testified before the council against the city's stepped-up enforcement tactics on Airbnb hosts filed suit against the city alleging that he was hit with $32,000 in fines just for speaking out. Airbnb retained Andrew Celli Jr. of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady to represent Stanley Karol, the plaintiff in the retaliation suit.