Facebook Accused of Racist Ad Policies

Facebook has denied claims that it allows racial discrimination in advertisements based on houses and jobs. A lawsuit may come down to interpretation of anti-discrimination laws.

The lawsuit is filed against Facebook and "up to 9,999" unnamed co-defendants, though that appears to be a legal procedural move. It says Facebook has violated both the Fair Housing Act and Civil Rights Act.

The legal action follows an investigation by "public interest journalism" group ProPublica, which bought an advertisement aimed at house buyers to check out claims of racial bias.

Test Ad Blocks Users By Race

When buying the ad, staff at the site targeted it at New Yorkers aged 18-65. They then selected an option to target it at people that were interested in buying a house.

They were then able to select a second option which prevented the advertisement from being seen by users whose "ethnic affinity" was listed as African American, Asian American or Hispanic (with Spanish dominant). The staff reported that they weren't offered an option to exclude Caucasian people. (Source: propublica.org)

According to ProPublica, that's a clear violation of the Fair Housing Act's ban on rental or sale ads that indicate discrimination on a range of grounds including race. It also says that similar options in Facebook's job advertising tools constitute a breach of the Civil Rights Act.

Facebook Says Policies Bar Discrimination

Facebook says it will vigorously defend the lawsuit, which it describes as without merit. It argues that although it has options designed to make it easier to target specific communities including people of a particular ethnic background, its policies ban advertisers from using options for illegal purposes, including discrimination. (Source: bbc.co.uk)

If the case does go to trial, it's possible one major issue may be the difference between the spirit and letter of the law. When it comes to advertising, the acts primarily deal with the content of ads, with clear bans on an ad saying that only certain racial groups are eligible for a job, rental or purchase.

In this case, the effect is that people in some racial groups may never see the ad in the first case. That may not violate the letter of the law, but could be held to have the same unlawful effect.

What's Your Opinion?

Should Facebook allow targeting of advertising by ethnic background? If it uses such options, is there more it could to do prevent discrimination? Is there a difference between the content of ads and whether or not people can see the ads?