Facebook Parent Meta is rollingout changes to ad technology to prevent discrimination

FacebookMonday’s statement by Meta parent company indicated that it has made improvements to address concerns that the company’s system of serving ads might be biased.

Meta ads technology has been updated to reflect the social media giant. Settlement of a lawsuit with the US Department of Justice in 2022Several claims that the company allowed home sellers and landlords to post discriminatory housing ads. Meta was required to cease using the housing ads tool as part of the settlement and to create a new system.

Meta has strict rules against discriminatory advertising, but there have been complaints that advertisers could use Facebook’s advertising tools in order to exclude people from housing or job opportunities. financial services.Facebook allows advertisers to target people based on their interests, demographics, or behavior. Then, he uses the “targeting” feature.Ad auctionTo find out which ad should appear to the user at a specific time.

Meta has made such changes as Define the properties that certain advertisers can use To reach potential clients.

Miranda Pogen, Meta’s director of policy and responsible AI, stated in a blog post that even without targeting options, factors like people’s activities or interests can affect how ads are distributed to different demographics.

Meta explained that the update, called the contrast reduction system is designed to “help ensure that an audience that ends up seeing a credit, housing, or employment ad closer reflects the eligible audience for that ad.” The company will then compare the audience to the characteristics of the target audience, such as their estimated age and race. The social network stated that it uses aggregated information to protect privacy.

Facebook has begun to apply this system to US housing ads. Over the next year, it plans to expand VRS for credit ads and employment ads.