3 ms·
Facebook lets advertisers exclude users by race
- thaumasiotes 10y agoThe complaint is that facebook gives you the option to display your ads only to a particular demographic. Then they substantiate the idea that this is a Fair Housing Act violation with this: > The Fair Housing Act of 1968 makes it illegal "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.” But displaying ads only to white users is not at all the same thing as printing "whites only" in the ad.
- mgiannopoulos 10y agoThen again , do print magazines provide (or are allowed to provide) ethnicity demographics to potential advertised companies?
- mariuolo 10y agoDoes Facebook? They merely show ads to selected audiencies. And in any case race on Facebook profiles is not quite a secret.
- mgiannopoulos 10y agoAs per the article, they provide the option to only target (for example) African Americans (or to exclude them)
- jlgaddis 10y agoThis isn't a big deal in my eyes. If you're advertising a product that appeals predominantly to certain races, why waste your dollars advertising it to all races? If you're promoting a Charlie Daniels concert, for example, blacks almost certainly aren't your target demographic. Why throw your dollars away by showing your ads to people who very likely don't want your product? This seems like common sense but because the word "race" is in there people want to make a big deal out of it. With regard to the specific example in the article, it's up to the advertiser to ensure they're compliant with the FHA, not the publisher.