From CNET: The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Thursday hit Facebook with charges that it violated the Fair Housing Act through targeted ads.
The charges follow an August 2018 complaint that alleged the social network lets landlords and home sellers engage in housing discrimination by excluding based on gender, enthicity, personal circumstances or where they live.
"Facebook is discriminating against people based upon who they are and where they live," HUD Secretary Ben Carson said in a release. "Using a computer to limit a person's housing choices can be just as discriminatory as slamming a door in someone's face."
The initial complaint came after a 2016 ProPublica investigation showed that housing advertisements could be targeted at and away from specific groups, then did so again a year later, impacting people protected by the Fair Housing Act.
"Even as we confront new technologies, the fair housing laws enacted over half a century ago remain clear -- discrimination in housing-related advertising is against the law," HUD General Counsel Paul Compton said in Thursday's statement.
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