Facebook adjusts advertising system after complaint about discrimination
The adjustments should also ensure that advertisements for jobs and loans no longer discriminate.
Facebook earns billions from advertisements and can determine very precisely who sees which advertisements based on user data.
“Companies like Meta have a responsibility to ensure that their algorithmic tools are not used in a discriminatory manner,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the U.S. Department of Justice.
According to her, the settlement reached is ‘historic’. “It’s the first time Meta has agreed to end one of its algorithmic targeting tools.”
Facebook parent company Meta has agreed to change its way of advertising after allegations of discrimination.
Artificial intelligence must ensure that populations are not excluded on characteristics such as gender, age or origin, reports Meta.
The U.S. Department of Housing had complained that housing ads on Facebook “unlawfully discriminate” on the basis of skin color, ancestry, religion, gender and disability, among other things.
The adjustments are part of a settlement with the U.S. government. In that settlement, which the judge still has to approve, there is also a fine of approximately 110,000 euros.
