NEW YORK--The Trump administration accused Facebook Inc on Thursday of selling targeted advertising that discriminated on the basis of race, in violation of the U.S. Fair Housing Act.
Seeking damages and unspecified relief for harm caused, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said in its civil charge that Facebook also restricted who could see housing-related ads based on national origin, religion, familial status, sex and disability.
Facebook said it had been working with the department to address the concerns and was surprised by the decision to issue the charge, having taken "significant steps" to prevent ads that discriminate across its platforms. The company also said the government had "insisted on access to sensitive information - like user data - without adequate safeguards," adding that it was willing to provide aggregate reports but not user-level personal information.
The Housing Department claims Facebook mines data about its users and then employs machine learning to predict their responses to ads in ways that may recreate groupings defined by characteristics such as race. A spokesman for the department declined to comment on the details of the discussions.
The social media giant last week agreed to overhaul its paid advertising platform as part of a wide-ranging settlement with U.S. civil rights groups, which had filed five separate lawsuits accusing the company of enabling discrimination in advertising. Under U.S. law, including the federal Fair Housing Act, it is illegal to publish certain types of ads - including online ads - if they indicate a preference based on race, religion, sex or other specified classifications.
As part of last week's settlement, Facebook said it would create a new advertising portal for ads linked to housing and employment that would limit targeting options for advertisers. It also pledged to build a tool that would allow users to search all current housing ads listed in the United States, regardless of whether the ads were directed at them.
The government charge said Facebook enabled advertisers to exclude people whom the social network's data classified as parents, non-American-born, non-Christian, or a variety of other interests that closely align with the Fair Housing Act's protected classes.
"Facebook is discriminating against people based upon who they are and where they live," Department Secretary Ben Carson said. "Using a computer to limit a person's housing choices can be just as discriminatory as slamming a door in someone's face."
