A long-brewing controversy has finally resulted in legal repercussions for Facebook.
"Housing advocates filed a federal lawsuit against Facebook in a Manhattan courtroom [this week], alleging that the social network and advertising platform enables landlords and real estate brokers to exclude families with children, women, and other protected classes from seeing housing ads," reports Patrick Sisson.
"The plaintiffs—the National Fair Housing Association, the Fair Housing Justice Center of New York City, Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence, Inc. in Miami; and the Fair Housing Council of Greater San Antonio—allege that Facebook, by utilizing the personal data of users to help advertisers target (and exclude) specific groups and audiences, enables discriminatory practices that violate the Fair Housing Act," adds Sisson.
Sisson's coverage of the lawsuit includes a statement from a spokesperson for Facebook, which refutes the validity of the lawsuit. As noted in the article, this isn't the first time that Facebook's advertisement platform has been accused of housing discrimination. As recently at as November 2017, ProPublica was finding evidence of ongoing discriminatory practices.
A press release from the National Fair Housing Alliance announcing the lawsuit provides more details.
FULL STORY: Facebook sued for allowing discriminatory housing ads
Breaking News: Feds Sue Facebook Over Discriminatory Housing Advertisement System
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development escalated its actions against Facebook, even after the social media giant had settled a lawsuit with civil rights organizations and taken steps to reform its advertising system.
Facebook Among Targets of HUD's Latest Round of Fair Housing Enforcement
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is taking on one big fish and a few little fish in the battle against housing discrimination.
Amid Turmoil, HUD Relaxes Fair Housing Enforcement
The department's activities, or lack thereof, under the Trump administration have caused housing advocates a lot of consternation. Under Ben Carson, is HUD abandoning its fair housing mission?
Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
Test News Post 1
This is a summary
Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.
Test News Headline 46
Test for the image on the front page.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service