After a user filed a lawsuit against Facebook in 2021, the issue related to ads was revived. The approach by the user indicated that it was “absurd” to watch the advertisements that she was forced to. In the end, nine companies were the subject of a class action lawsuit.
The plaintiff alleged “digital housing discrimination” by excluding people and from there, the social network discovered the digital redlining issue. Neuhtah Opiotennione, the Facebook user who filed the lawsuit, claimed that users under the age of 50 were omitted from the ads. According to the complainant, Meta refused to allow a valuable age and commercial group to see the housing advertisements.
Facebook’s sensitivity to ads
The plaintiff’s allegation directly stated that Facebook is targeting an exclusion of users based on certain characteristics. ” The social network is not giving users what they want,” said David Brody, a lawyer who filed a brief in support of the lawsuit, in a press release.
Throughout the text, the lawyer pointed to different aspects that are displayed in Facebook ads. Brody stated that the social network thinks about what the user wants by creating a demographic stereotype. And this is why he added that the red line, according to the lawyer, is unfair or discriminatory.
What is the digital red line
Redlining is when individuals or companies deliberately withhold resources that can be used by others. In digital matters, this red line points to the use of technology to “perpetuate” discrimination. Several organizations are working to fix this situation on the web and, mainly, on social networks.
