The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said Thursday it is charging Facebook with housing discrimination, alleging that its targeted advertising platform violates the Fair Housing Act by “encouraging, enabling, and causing” unlawful discrimination by restricting who can view housing ads.
The charges come one week after the social media giant agreed in a sweeping settlement with civil rights groups to overhaul its micro-targeting ad system for job, housing and loan advertisements after discrimination complaints.
HUD Secretary Ben Carson last August accused Facebook of enabling housing discrimination by allowing advertisers to exclude people based on race, gender, Zip code or religion after nearly two years of preliminary investigation begun during the Obama administration.
“Facebook is discriminating against people based upon who they are and where they live,” Carson said in a statement Thursday morning. “Using a computer to limit a person’s housing choices can be just as discriminatory as slamming a door in someone’s face.”
The housing agency claims that Facebook mines users’ extensive personal data and uses characteristics protected by law – race, color, national origin, religion, familiar status, sex and disability – to determine who can view housing ads.
Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.