HUD investigating Twitter, Google ad practices for discrimination: report

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) told Twitter and Google last year that they are under investigation for allegedly enabling discriminatory ad practices, according to The Washington Post.

A source familiar with the agency’s actions told the Post that HUD’s investigations into Twitter and Google are ongoing.

{mosads}”They want to make sure that other companies aren’t getting away with something that one company is investigated for,” a source familiar with the probes told the Post.

The revelation comes hours after HUD charged Facebook with encouraging and enabling housing discrimination through its targeted advertising practices. 

Civil rights groups have called for investigations into tech companies’ ad targeting after ProPublica reported in 2016 that Facebook was allowing advertisers to exclude certain users based on “ethnic affinity,” which critics have argued is used as a proxy for race and ethnicity.

Facebook on Thursday said it was “surprised” by HUD’s decision to bring charges against the company. Negotiations between HUD and Facebook apparently broke down when the agency requested “access to sensitive information — like user data — without adequate safeguards,” the company said.

“We’re disappointed by today’s developments, but we’ll continue working with civil rights experts on these issues,” a Facebook spokesperson said.

Facebook also noted that HUD had not yet addressed the other digital advertising platforms that offer advertisers the option to target users by on age, gender and ZIP code. 

A spokesperson for Google said the company had existing policies barring targeted ads based on “sensitive categories,” including race.

“We’ve had policies in place for many years that prohibit targeting ads on the basis of sensitive categories like race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, disability status, negative financial standing, etc,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill. “Our policies are designed to protect users and ensure that advertisers are using our platforms in a responsible manner.”

“Twitter doesn’t allow discriminatory advertising on our platform,” the spokesperson said. “Someone using Twitter to advertise agrees to comply with the law and not use our services for illegal activities. Discrimination in housing and employment is against the law and against our rules.”