Facebook lets advertisers exclude people by race
If this sounds super shady, it’s because it is
Facebook has been allowing advertisers to exclude users along the basis of race, a blistering report from ProPublica revealed Friday morning:
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.
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 “Ethnic Affinities.” Ads that exclude people based on race, gender and other sensitive factors are prohibited by federal law in housing and employment.
The Fair Housing Act makes it pretty clear that it is 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.”
I am a Medium employee, but as a Black Facebook user, this is personal for me. And even if a court finds that Facebook’s practices aren’t against the law, it unquestionably skirts an ethical line. You wouldn’t let a real estate agent only market to white homebuyers, so why would Facebook allow this?
Can y’all believe this? If you’re a person of color, I’d bet the answer is probably.
Last week, Facebook president Mark Zuckerberg was criticized for a leaked internal memo reaffirming his support for Facebook board member, Trump supporter, and lowkey Bond villain Peter Thiel. The memo came at a time when many in Silicon Valley were publicly cutting ties with Thiel after he donated $1.5 to Trump’s campaign (Thiel has also said pretty awful things about women and has made a habit of palin’ around with white supremacists.)
And despite Facebook’s hanging a giant #BlackLivesMatter sign in their headquarters, according to ACLU, the social media behemoth has been abusing user data for the widespread surveillance to help law enforcement spy on Black activists.
