Facebook Inc. said on Friday it would stop advertisers from using its ethnicity-based ad-targeting feature on some ads, following criticism that advertisers could misuse the tool.
The feature, intended to help advertisers reach ethnic groups with relevant ads, has come under fire from politicians and civil rights leaders for allowing advertisers to exclude users from seeing ads based on their race.
Facebook will disable use of the tool, called “Ethnic Affinities,” for ads that offer housing, employment and the extension of credit — areas where certain ethnicities have historically faced discrimination, the social network said in a blog post.
“There are many non-discriminatory uses of our ethnic affinity solution in these areas, but we have decided that we can best guard against discrimination by suspending these types of ads,” Erin Egan, Facebook’s chief privacy officer, wrote.
Facebook’s advertising policy will now require a commitment from advertisers that they will not engage in discriminatory advertising on its platform, the company said.
ProPublica, a non-profit news organization, reported last month that Facebook lets advertisers exclude users by race, possibly violating federal housing and civil rights laws.
Facebook said it would also provide material to educate advertisers about advertising related to housing, employment and credit.
(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)
Delivering a high-quality product at a reasonable price is not enough anymore.
That’s why we have developed 5 beneficial guarantees that will make your experience with our service enjoyable, easy, and safe.
You have to be 100% sure of the quality of your product to give a money-back guarantee. This describes us perfectly. Make sure that this guarantee is totally transparent.
Read moreEach paper is composed from scratch, according to your instructions. It is then checked by our plagiarism-detection software. There is no gap where plagiarism could squeeze in.
Read moreThanks to our free revisions, there is no way for you to be unsatisfied. We will work on your paper until you are completely happy with the result.
Read moreYour email is safe, as we store it according to international data protection rules. Your bank details are secure, as we use only reliable payment systems.
Read moreBy sending us your money, you buy the service we provide. Check out our terms and conditions if you prefer business talks to be laid out in official language.
Read more