The Dilemma with Facebook’s Ad Discrimination
“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’s basically what Facebook is doing nowadays.” Those were the words that NYC-based non-government, investigative journalist organization ProPublica used to describe a discovery they made last year. After buying an ad on Facebook Business, the NGO found out that the website allowed advertisers to exclude other races from seeing their ads. Housing advertisers in the United States, in particular, are currently in hot water. As a matter of fact, according to ProPublica, “Ads that exclude people based on race, gender and other sensitive factors are prohibited by federal law in housing and employment.” It should be noted that advertising on Facebook gives you access to a very powerful feature. You can target demographics including: Geographic location Language Age Gender Religion Relationship Status Work Educational Attainmen...