The Department of Justice announced Tuesday it had obtained a settlement agreement resolving allegations that Meta Platforms Inc., formerly known as Facebook Inc., has engaged in discriminatory advertising in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA).
The proposed agreement resolves a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging that Meta’s housing advertising system discriminates against Facebook users based on their race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status and national origin.
The settlement will not take effect until approved by the court.
Among other things, the complaint alleges that Meta uses algorithms in determining which Facebook users receive housing ads, and that those algorithms rely, in part, on characteristics protected under the FHA.
This is the department’s first case challenging algorithmic bias under the Fair Housing Act.
Under the settlement, Meta will stop using an advertising tool for housing ads (known as the “Special Ad Audience” tool) that, according to the department’s complaint, relies on a discriminatory algorithm.
Meta also will develop a new system to address racial and other disparities caused by its use of personalization algorithms in its ad delivery system for housing ads.
That system will be subject to Department of Justice approval and court oversight.
This settlement marks the first time that Meta will be subject to court oversight for its ad targeting and delivery system.
“As technology rapidly evolves, companies like Meta have a responsibility to ensure their algorithmic tools are not used in a discriminatory manner,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This settlement is historic, marking the first time that Meta has agreed to terminate one of its algorithmic targeting tools and modify its delivery algorithms for housing ads in response to a civil rights lawsuit.”
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