The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development last week filed a formal complaint against Facebook for allowing its users to engage in housing discrimination via the Facebook advertising platform.
HUD claims Facebook enables advertisers to control which users receive housing-related ads based on the recipient’s race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, disability, and/or ZIP code.
Facebook then invites advertisers to express unlawful preferences by offering discriminatory options, allowing them to effectively limit housing options for these protected classes under the guise of “targeted advertising.”
Read HUD’s complaint against Facebook. Read more about HUD’s complaint and see examples of Facebook’s alleged violations.
Sometimes we are really good at over-regulating everything under the sun…encourage the sale of homes and the neighborhoods have a regular influx of people. Doesn’t price range seem to be a better predictor of who buys in that neighborhood?
My experience with Facebook has been they will not boost any real estate ads that have a targeted audience
how this this “freedom of speech” issue different than the Citizens United decision, although I would not support either.
Real estate leads are sold every day based on zip code. Certain zip codes are go for a higher price than less desirable zip codes. Is getting a divorce a familial status? How about farming areas where the population is older and possibly getting ready to downsize? Where is the line drawn?
Okay, so I read HUD’s complaint and my jaw dropped. Not because I am happy to see a website that I really don’t like being caught red handed in deliberate discriminatory acts but because of how absolutely absurd and unfounded the allegations probably are. HUD states that people looking and seeking specific items are not seeing everything that does not have those items and advertisers aren’t pushing those items to consumers that they don’t want the items being offered. They did not state it that way but that is what is happening. A government bureaucracy who knows better than the… Read more »
I do targeted advertising on FB and I use the targeting to INCLUDE, not exclude . It’s ludicrous for HUD to think that I should let my advertising dollars be spent on everyone everywhere that has a Facebook acct! There is very little advertising for anything via any mode, TV, radio, print, billboards, etc… that doesn’t have a ‘target audience’ and businesses want to spend their advertising dollars wisely. There could be advertisers that DO use targeting to exclude certain protected groups under the Fair Housing Act and those are the people that should be prosecuted. There is a difference… Read more »
This is absolutely absurd. HUD obviously wants to maliciously target Facebook. Every marketing platform, business, marketer, etc… in the country targets through zip codes. Saying FB shouldn’t be able to target by zip code is the same thing as telling agents they can’t set up searches by zip, TV stations they can’t sell commercials by zip code, telling MLS’s zillow, realtor.com, trulia, homes.com etc and the list goes on that they can’t do it either. this is nothing more than HUD making noise about nothing and blaming Facebook for something that is common practice within the marketing world. It will… Read more »
I’m a REALTOR who used to advertise on FB. My ad campaings grew in cost and I can assure you that they didn’t target the likes of who would likely hold an interest in real estate services. I specialize in selling real estate and I do help tenants and landlords alike with lease properties. I was shocked at the high concentration of bare chested men, men in undershirts in selfie poses taken in their bathroom mirrors following me from all over the world it seemed. They posted comments such as ‘I like your smile’, ‘you have beautiful hair…’ I found… Read more »
If you or I did it, we would be immediately charged. But due to size of FB, HUD is too chicken to “arrest ” or charge anyone. No threats to lose a license. FB is too powerful and a threat to a thriving, accepting society.
Simply stated, nothing more than a shakedown. FB has lots of money, and the government wants it. No different than many of the CFPB fines.
Zip Codes, really? What’s next; if I’m going to advertise my services in a specific zip code will I now have to mail to all zip codes in the city? Over-regulation appears to be rapid here, or are they simply picking on Facebook and MZ?
This is up there with telling all landlords they have to allow “any type” of service animal in a house they own.