Facebook's been promising to fix discrimination problems with its ads platform ever since a Pro Publicareport last fall found that its targeting tools had the potential to violate civil rights laws.
A year later, those efforts don't seem to have amounted to much.
SEE ALSO:Here's how easy it is for anyone to use Facebook like Russian actors didA follow-up investigation from the Pro Publicaon Tuesday found that Facebook still approved housing ads that excluded users based on their religion, gender, or "multicultural affinity" (Facebook's thinly veiled stand-in for race which was previously called "ethnic affinity"). Each of those demographics are considered protected groups under the Fair Housing Act.
After Pro Publica's report first broke last year, the social network attempted to ease the controversy with some bare-minimum changes to its platform and an internal probe a week later. The following February, it rolled out more tools meant to curb discrimination on the platform, including a machine learning system meant to detect when combinations of targeting categories might be discriminatory and warnings to businesses placing housing and employment ads.
Even so, the news site reported that each of the recent ads it took out to test Facebook's systems was approved within a few minutes. The only exception was an ad centered on users interested in Islam, which took close to half an hour.
Facebook blamed the problem on "a technical failure."
“This was a failure in our enforcement and we’re disappointed that we fell short of our commitments," Facebook's vp of product management, Ami Vora, said in a statement. "We don’t want Facebook to be used for discrimination and will continue to strengthen our policies, hire more ad reviewers, and refine machine learning tools to help detect violations. Our systems continue to improve but we can do better."
The company also announced that it would began expanding its warning system to all ads that are set up to exclude certain groups. The system previously only applied to housing, job, and credit ads.
Facebook also claims that its new software and additional human reviewers have managed to flag millions of discriminatory ads since they were deployed earlier this year.
The report follows another investigation by CNBC last week that found that Facebook was rife with posts advertising the illegal sale of prescription opioids and other dangerous drugs.
Reports like these, as well as the ongoing congressional investigation into the role Facebook played in a Kremlin-aligned campaign to influence the U.S. presidential election, have poked many holes in Facebook's claims that it strictly polices its advertising platform for nefarious actors.
This post has been updated to include a statement from Facebook.
TopicsFacebook
(责任编辑：知識)
'The Flying Bum' aircraft crashes during second test flightAll I want from 'M3GAN 2' is M3GAN vs. M3GANWordle today: Here's the answer, hints for February 28'The Last of Us' episode 4 had one hell of a game actor cameoSamsung Galaxy Note7 teardown reveals the magic behind the phone's iris scanner5 people Tim Cook calls for advice on running the biggest company in the world
It's only fitting that the leader of the biggest company in the world has a pretty impressive list o
...[详细]People are selling Disney Splash Mountain water on Ebay. It's the dumbest thing ever.
There's that saying "a fool and their money is soon parted," but I typically try not to judge people
...[详细]Scientists watch as a black hole destroys doomed object in our galaxy
Right now, in the center of our galaxy, an enormous black hole is stretching an object apart like it
...[详细]All the tech companies laying off employees in 2023
It's been a rough few months for people who work in tech. After a massive hiring spree during the be
...[详细]You can now play 'Solitaire' and 'Tic
Google just added two new fun Easter eggs to its search results. 。You can now play 。 Solitaire 。and 。 Ti
...[详细]WhatsApp is letting users post voice notes as statuses
WhatsApp is now allowing voice notes to be posted as statuses, which means up to 30 seconds of recor
...[详细]'The Sims 4' update adds top surgery, binders, and hearing aids
The Sims 4has released a free update that adds top surgery scars, binders and shapewear, and medical
...[详细]Warner Bros. Discovery sues Paramount over 'South Park' streaming rights
HBO Max's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is suing Paramount for allegedly failing to honor
...[详细]This chart shows just how high Simone Biles can jump
American gymnast Simone Biles has dominated the Rio Olympics with five medals (four of them gold) bu
...[详细]Twitter layoffs: Elon Musk cuts dozens of jobs, yet again shrinking the company
Despite already making several rounds of extreme cuts, Twitter CEO Elon Musk has laid off even moree
...[详细]This app is giving streaming TV news a second try
Who is the 'eat the rich' killer in 'You' Season 4?
