facebook lets advertisers exclude users by race julia angwin and terry parris jr., pro publica, october 28, 2016 




imagine if, during the jim crow era, a newspaper offered advertisers the option of placing ads only in copies that went to white readers. 




that<u+2019>s basically what facebook is doing nowadays. 




the ubiquitous social network not only allows advertisers to target users by their interests or background, it also gives advertisers the ability to exclude specific groups it calls <u+201c>ethnic affinities.<u+201d> ads that exclude people based on race, gender and other sensitive factors are prohibited by federal law in housing and employment. 




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the ad we purchased was targeted to facebook members who were house hunting and excluded anyone with an <u+201c>affinity<u+201d> for african-american, asian-american or hispanic people. ( here<u+2019>s the ad itself .) 




when we showed facebook<u+2019>s racial exclusion options to a prominent civil rights lawyer john relman , he gasped and said, <u+201c>this is horrifying. this is massively illegal. this is about as blatant a violation of the federal fair housing act as one can find.<u+201d> 




the fair housing act of 1968 makes it illegal <u+201c>to make, print, or publish, or cause to be made, printed, or published any notice, statement, or advertisement, with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.<u+201d> violators can face tens of thousands of dollars in fines . 




the civil rights act of 1964 also prohibits the <u+201c>printing or publication of notices or advertisements indicating prohibited preference, limitation, specification or discrimination<u+201d> in employment recruitment. 




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facebook says its policies prohibit advertisers from using the targeting options for discrimination, harassment, disparagement or predatory advertising practices. 




<u+201c>we take a strong stand against advertisers misusing our platform: our policies prohibit using our targeting options to discriminate, and they require compliance with the law,<u+201d> said steve satterfield, privacy and public policy manager at facebook. <u+201c>we take prompt enforcement action when we determine that ads violate our policies.<u+201d> 




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he said facebook began offering the <u+201c>ethnic affinity<u+201d> categories within the past two years as part of a <u+201c>multicultural advertising<u+201d> effort. 




satterfield added that the <u+201c>ethnic affinity<u+201d> is not the same as race<u+2013>which facebook does not ask its members about. facebook assigns members an <u+201c>ethnic affinity<u+201d> based on pages and posts they have liked or engaged with on facebook. 




when we asked why <u+201c>ethnic affinity<u+201d> was included in the <u+201c>demographics<u+201d> category of its ad-targeting tool if it<u+2019>s not a representation of demographics, facebook responded that it plans to move <u+201c>ethnic affinity<u+201d> to another section. 




facebook declined to answer questions about why our housing ad excluding minority groups was approved 15 minutes after we placed the order. 




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facebook lets advertisers exclude users by race
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