NEW YORK (Reuters) -The United States and Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc have settled a lawsuit over a housing advertising system that illegally discriminated against Facebook users based on race and other characteristics, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Tuesday.
In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court, the DOJ said Meta encouraged advertisers to target users based on features like race, religion, and sex, in violation of the Federal Housing Act. That law prohibits discrimination in housing based on such characteristics.
The DOJ said Meta used an algorithm to help advertisers find Facebook users who share similarities with groups of individuals. Meta must pay a $115,054 civil penalty, the highest allowed under the law, according to the DOJ.
“Because of this ground-breaking lawsuit, Meta will — for the first time — change its ad delivery system to address algorithmic discrimination,” Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for Manhattan, said in a statement.
As part of the settlement, Meta must stop using the housing ads tool – known as “Special Ad Audience” – and develop a new one by the end of 2022.
In a statement, Meta said it would also use the new system for advertisements related to jobs and credit.
“Discrimination in housing, employment and credit is a deep-rooted problem with a long history in the US, and we are committed to broadening opportunities for marginalized communities in these spaces and others,” the company said.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Luc Cohen in New YorkEditing by Jonathan Oatis and Mark Potter)
