Is Facebook allowing ads that discriminate against ethnicity?
Is Facebook allowing ads that discriminate against ethnicity?
The Drum
Natalie Mortimer
The social media giant’s ad platform allows advertisers to target specific user groups based on information provided by Facebook users, however a report by non-profit investigative journalism group ProPublica said that the system is being used to exclude specific groups it calls ‘Ethnic Affinities,’ that include black, Hispanic, Asian American and others.
Ads targeting people based on their race may violate a number of laws in the US that prohibit discrimination of this kind, according to International Business Times (IBT).
A sample ad created by ProbPublica for housing rentals demonstrates how the system can be used to narrow down demographics by excluding certain groups like African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanics. Such ads will then not be available to those Facebook users who have declared their ethnicity on their profiles.
Read more: http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/10/30/facebook-allowing-ads-discriminate-against-ethnicity