Facebook illegally lets housing ads exclude ethnic minorities

Occurred: October 2016

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Facebook allows advertisers in the US to exclude black, Hispanic and other 'ethnic affinities' from seeing ads on its platform, an investigation has revealed.

According to non-profit news organisation ProPublica, Facebook devised a category called 'Ethnic Affinities' that enabled advertisers to target and exclude certain groups of users when placing ads for a new apartment or a house for sale.

Affinity targeting is based on interests users have declared or Facebook pages they have liked.

Ads that exclude people based on race, gender and other sensitive factors are prohibited by US federal laws governing housing, employment and financial services.

The discovery resulted in multiple parties suing Facebook - including the US Department of Housing (HUD) - a suit Facebok lost.

➕ August 2020. The Markup reported that Facebook continued to publish ads discriminating against users on the basis of age and race, including in advertising open jobs. Days before The Markup's article was published, Facebook announced it would eliminate multicultural affinity categories.

➕ July 2021. The Markup discovered a wide range of proxies for racial categories being used by advertisers on the platform, including the phrases 'African-American culture,' 'Asian Culture,' and 'Latino culture.'