Facebook sued over discriminatory ads

NEW YORK — Facebook will change its algorithms to prevent discriminatory housing advertising and its parent company will subject itself to court oversight to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday.

In a release, U.S. government officials said it had reached agreement with Meta Platforms Inc., formerly known as Facebook Inc., to settle the lawsuit filed simultaneously in Manhattan federal court.

According to the release, it was the Justice Department’s first case challenging algorithmic discrimination under the Fair Housing Act. Facebook will now be subject to Justice Department approval and court oversight for its ad targeting and delivery system.

Ashley Settle, a Facebook spokesperson, said in an email that the company was “building a novel machine learning method without our ads system that will change the way housing ads are delivered to people residing in the U.S. across different demographic groups.”

She said the company would extend its new method for ads related to employment and credit in the U.S.

“We are excited to pioneer this effort,” Settle added in an email.

Williams said Facebook’s technology has in the past violated the Fair Housing Act online “just as when companies engage in discriminatory advertising using more traditional advertising methods.”

Clarke said “companies like Meta have a responsibility to ensure their algorithmic tools are not used in a discriminatory manner.”

Facebook will develop a new system over the next half-year to address racial and other disparities caused by its use of personalization algorithms in its delivery system for housing ads, it said.

If the new system is inadequate, the settlement agreement can be terminated, the Justice Department said. Per the settlement, Meta also must pay a penalty of just over $115,000.