Facebook Removes 5,000 Advertising Categories Based On Race, Religion

Less than a week after a government agency accused Facebook of allowing discriminatory housing advertising, the social network giant has removed thousands of targeted ad categories. Facebook on Tuesday announced in a company blog post that 5,000 ad categories based on religion and race will no longer be available to advertisers.

In addition, Facebook pledged to “educate advertisers about their obligations” to the company’s non-discrimination policies. Advertisers will need to complete a new certification process to keep their ads up on Facebook.

Facebook will not release the list of deleted terms in order to keep advertisers from gaming the system, CNET reported. However, two examples included “Islamic culture” and “Buddhism” as terms advertisers could use to specifically target their wares on Facebook.

The news came just days after the Department of Housing and Urban Development filed a complaint against Facebook for allegedly allowing discriminatory advertising practices. According to HUD, Facebook’s targeted advertising tools allowed those advertising housing to exclude users based on religion, race or other factors, which would be a violation of the Fair Housing Act.

"The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination including those who might limit or deny housing options with a click of a mouse," HUD’s Anna Maria Farias said in a statement. "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."

Some of the advertising practices HUD accused Facebook of enabling went well beyond excluding potential tenants based on race. Users could be excluded from housing ads if their Facebook profiles indicated they had children or showed any kind of interest in assistance for various disabilities, between hearing troubles and mobility assistance.

Users could even be excluded based on their ZIP codes, HUD said.

While the timing would seem to indicate Facebook’s advertising change came as a result of the HUD complaint, the company said otherwise. Facebook told CNET in a statement that it had been “collecting input from outside groups” for some time before coming to these conclusions.