It is now well known that Facebook’s ad platform is so powerful it can be used for nefarious and illegal purposes including racial discrimination. Enter the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or HUD for short. HUD has accused Facebook of using its advertising platform to enable housing discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act. In a nutshell, one can post a housing listing and through the ad platform tailor the ad so that only certain people would see it.
Among the most serious allegations, HUD alleges that Facebook, “discriminated by making dwellings unavailable because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin or disability”. The Complaint further states that Facebook, “made, printed, or published – or caused to be made, printed, or published – notices, statements, or advertisements with respect to the sale or rental of dwellings that indicated preferences, limitations, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin or disability, or that indicated an intention to make such a distinction”. Lets go ahead and… dislike.
The HUD allegations and complaint makes one wonder are there other tech companies who should be worried about their platform and or ad targeting enabling discrimination. Google? Amazon? Linkedin?
Ah Linkedin. LinkedIn has become sort of a default resume when searching for employment. LinkedIn as a platform strongly suggests that users upload a profile picture. Which brings into an obvious question. How many employers have passed up qualified candidates based on race due to their LinkedIn profile pictures? How many candidates were passed over due to age or sex discrimination? Is a company like LinkedIn enabling discrimination in employment practices? Pre-Linkedin one sent a resume and a cover letter, no pictures were required or even remotely suggested.
Similar to the ways in which Russian operatives targeted Americans in the 2016 election through narrowly tailored social media ads, those who seek to discriminate are able to do the same with these same tools. Progressive bros in the Valley who are woke to discriminatory practices need to put an end to them or they may be forced to by the Feds.
For more:
Check out this article on Business Insider on Age Discrimination and LinkedIn:
Check out the HUD Facebook Complaint Below:
https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/Main/documents/HUD_v_Facebook.pdf
