This archive report was first published on 1 November 2019.
Published on November 1, 2019, a lawsuit was filed in San Francisco federal court on behalf of a 54-year-old woman living in Washington, seeking class-action status.
According to the suit, Facebook's ad targeting tools allow advertisers to exclude women and older people from seeing ads for financial services, denying them equal access to these opportunities.
"Women and older persons are entitled to full and equal services of businesses such as Facebook, and the financial services companies that advertise on Facebook's platform," said attorney Matthew Handley in a statement.
Despite Facebook's previous settlement with activist groups, which aimed to prevent discrimination in job, housing, credit, and other services ads, the lawsuit alleges that the company has not taken sufficient action to stop advertisers from excluding older persons and women from getting financial services ads.
Facebook responded by stating that it is reviewing the complaint and has made significant changes to its policies to prevent potential misuse, including prohibiting discrimination in housing, employment, and credit opportunities.
