ALLEGATIONS

HUD Accuses Facebook of Enabling Housing Discrimination

A formal complaint was filed against the company Friday.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development filed a complaint against Facebook Friday, accusing the company of violating the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in print and online advertisements on the basis of race, religion, sex, and more. According to the complaint, Facebook allegedly allowed advertisers to target potential tenants or homebuyers while filtering out others, including people who live in specific zip codes or say they’re interested in “accessibility.” “When Facebook uses the vast amount of personal data it collects to help advertisers to discriminate, it’s the same as slamming the door in someone’s face,” Anna Maria Farías, HUD’s assistant secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, told Politico. In addition to HUD’s complaint, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York filed a statement of interest on Friday. “There is no place for discrimination on Facebook; it’s strictly prohibited in our policies,” the company said in a statement to CNN.