Civil and Human Rights Coalition Applauds Facebook for Prohibiting “Ethnic Affinity” Marketing in Housing, Employment, and Credit Ads

Media 11.11,16

WASHINGTON—Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement in response to today’s announcement by Facebook that it would prohibit the use of ethnic affinity marketing that enables ad buyers to exclude racial minorities from ads offering housing, employment, or credit. Facebook also said it would also require advertisers to affirm that they will not engage in discriminatory advertising on its platform:

“In recent months, it’s become increasingly clear that the public expects technology companies to enforce nondiscrimination on their platforms. Facebook deserves praise for taking action that demonstrates a commitment to combatting discriminatory targeting.

Civil rights laws prohibit discriminatory advertising for housing, credit, and employment, which are key components of equal opportunity. Facebook’s announcement that it will eliminate the ability to create racially discriminatory ads in these areas addresses a significant concern that civil rights advocates had about the company’s ‘ethnic affinity’ marketing policy. We hope that other companies will follow Facebook’s example.

We welcome Facebook’s announcement that it wants to look for other ways to combat discrimination, and look forward to further conversations with Facebook to ensure robust and specific prohibitions against discriminatory ad targeting based on gender, sexual orientation, religion, and other protected characteristics.” 

Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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