ACLU Files Charges Against Facebook's Gender-Discriminating Ad System

(RTTNews) - The American Civil Liberties Union has filed charges against Facebook as the social network's ad platform allows employers to discriminate against women.

The ACLU, along with the Communications Workers of America and the employment law firm Outten & Golden LLP, filed charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Facebook and 10 companies that targeted ads for jobs in male-dominated fields to younger male Facebook users only, excluding all women and non-binary individuals, as well as older male users.

It alleges that these job advertising practices violate federal civil rights laws prohibiting sex and age discrimination in employment.

The complaint was filed on behalf of three job seekers and the Communications Workers of America on behalf of a proposed class of millions of job applicants.

The charges filed allege that Facebook delivers job ads selectively based on age and sex categories that employers expressly choose, and that Facebook earns revenue from its choice to place job ads that exclude women and older workers from receiving the ads.

The complaint claims that Facebook's ad system violates anti-discrimination provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.