Facebook Gets Suit Alleging Bias in Targeted Ads Tossed, For Now

Facebook Inc. convinced a federal judge in California Thursday to tentatively throw out a proposed class action accusing the social media giant of allowing advertisers to unlawfully target people for financial services ads based on age and gender.

At a hearing on Facebook’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley hurled several questions at counsel for Neuhtah Opiotennione. Opiotennione, of Washington, D.C., sued the social media giant on behalf of other users who were purportedly denied access to marketing materials for banks and financial institutions because they are women or because they’re older individuals.

Corley, of the ...