HUD: FACEBOOK LETS LANDLORDS DISCRIMINATE

Federal regulators allege Facebook’s advertising tools allow landlords and real estate brokers to engage in housing discrimination. Advertisers on Facebook can exclude certain audiences, such as families with young children or disabled people, from seeing housing ads – a violation of the Fair Housing Act, the Department of Housing and Urban Development says in an administrative complaint. Service providers such as Facebook typically aren’t liable for the actions of their users. But Facebook mines user data and customizes ads for specific audiences, which makes it a content creator, the Justice Department says in a separate civil lawsuit filed by housing advocates. Facebook says the company doesn’t allow discrimination and has strengthened its systems over the past year to prevent misuse.