The Trump DOJ has joined a lawsuit filed by the National Fair Housing Alliance against Facebook. In a so-called statement of interest, the department suggested that Facebook could be held liable if housing providers like real estate developers and landlords used the site's targeting tools to discriminate against prospective renters and buyers in advertising their properties. Such tools limit who can see ads based on factors like sex, religion and nationality, and advertising restricted along those lines violates the Fair Housing Act.
Also at NYT, Market Watch, NPR, Washington Post.
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 20 2018, @05:57PM
there's nothing wrong with discrimination in and of itself. it's called having standards for something. so some parasite in washington can tell you who you are forced to associate/do business with? the fair housing act and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act sound unconstitutional to me. i think picking on people because they are smaller or in the minority is shameful and cowardly, but at the same time, i shouldn't be forced to ignore any prejudices i form, no matter how stupid they may be to someone else. they are my own standards/filters and none of the government's business. if i use them to justify violating someone else's rights, then that is already a legitimate crime. i have the right to engage in commerce with who i want and the reverse without some piece of shit trying to steal from me or kidnap me.