Facebook Must Defend Discrimination Suit on Targeted Housing Ads

Meta Platforms Inc.‘s Facebook must once again face a proposed class suit brought by users alleging the site’s targeted advertising tools prevented them from seeing ads for housing based on protected attributes like race, sex, and disability, a divided Ninth Circuit ruled Friday.

Several people of color filed suit against Facebook over its allegedly discriminatory ad platform, seeking compensatory damages for lost housing opportunities and increased time searching for housing. Facebook convinced a lower court to dismiss their third amended complaint in 2021.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed that dismissal, holding the lower court ...