Facebook Violates Anti-Discrimination Laws by Targeting Ads by Age and Gender

A recent ruling by a California court has spotlighted Facebook’s ad-targeting system, declaring its practices of showing ads to Americans based on age and gender as a violation of the state’s anti-discrimination laws.

Ars Technica reports that a California court has ruled against Facebook (now known as Meta) for its ad-targeting practices, which involve categorizing and targeting ads based on user demographics such as age and gender. The case, initiated by Samantha Liapes, a 48-year-old user, has brought to light potential systemic issues within digital advertising algorithms and their implications on user discrimination.

Liapes, who embarked on a legal battle against Facebook in 2020, alleged that the platform’s ad-targeting system discriminated against her as an older woman, particularly when she was shopping for life insurance policies. Her complaint articulated that “Facebook requires all advertisers to choose the age and gender of its users who will receive ads,” and that companies offering insurance products “routinely tell it to not send their ads to women or older people.” Moreover, Liapes contended that Facebook’s ad-delivery algorithm exacerbates the issue by utilizing these inputs to serve ads to “lookalike audiences.”