Onuoha v. Facebook (also known as Mobley v. Facebook) was filed on behalf of people of color challenging race and national origin discrimination in employment, housing, and credit ads on Facebook.
After a
ProPublica article highlighted that Facebook allows advertisers to exclude specific groups it calls “Ethnic Affinities,” three individuals who used Facebook to search for housing and/or employment filed this class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Facebook and 9,999 unidentified advertisers on November 3, 2016. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendant advertisers had used Facebook's "ethnic affinities" feature to discriminate against potential renters and employees on the basis of their background, and that Facebook allowed them to do so.
Represented by Outten & Golden LLP, Aqua Terra Aeris Law Group, and the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, the plaintiffs sued Facebook under the Fair Housing Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The plaintiffs asked the court for certification as a class, declaratory relief, temporary and permanent injunctive relief, and monetary damages, both in the form of statutory damages and civil penalties.
On February 13, 2017, the Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint, naming only Facebook as a Defendant. It added allegations under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, 15 U.S.C. §1691, (“ECOA”), the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981-82 (“Section 1981” and “Section 1982”), the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, Cal. Gov. Code § 12900, (“FEHA”), the California Unfair Competition Law, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200, (“UCL”), and the California Unruh Civil Rights Act, Cal. Civil Code § 51(b).
In the amended complaint, the plaintiffs alleged that Facebook provided businesses with tools that "enable and encourage" discrimination by allowing for the exclusion of "African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans - but not white Americans - from receiving advertisements" about employment, housing, and credit opportunities. The plaintiffs further alleged that, in offering this tool, Facebook engaged in a pattern or practice of "providing racially discriminatory marketing, recruitment, sourcing, advertising, branding, information, and/or hiring services for and on behalf of employers, housing providers, and creditors in violation of federal and state civil rights laws."
Facebook moved to dismiss the case on Apr. 3, 2017. Facebook alleged that they were immune under the Communications Decency Act, that the plaintiffs did not have standing, and that the plaintiffs failed to allege that Facebook itself engaged in discrimination. Four days later, the court stayed discovery pending the resolution of the motion.
The parties then began mediation. During the mediation, four related cases were filed. On August 24, 2018, Facebook moved to relate the cases. The court denied this motion on September 10, 2018. On February 12, 2019, Facebook filed a proposed order containing the settlement agreement. On March 19, 2019, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their claims with prejudice allowing for settlement.
Facebook reached settlements in three civil rights cases and two complaints before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over ad discrimination on its platform. The settlement included Mobley v. Facebook (N.D. Cal.)),
Spees v. Facebook (EEOC) ,
National Fair Housing Alliance v. Facebook (S.D.N.Y),
Communications Workers of America v. Facebook (EEOC), and
Riddick v. Facebook (N.D. Cal.), all available on the Clearinghouse. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg commented on the settlement in a blog post: “There is a long history of discrimination in the areas of housing, employment, and credit, and this harmful behavior should not happen through Facebook ads…We can do better.” Sandburg attributed the civil rights audit in Facebook’s decision to settle.
The terms of the settlement included promises by Facebook to make significant changes to their advertising tools to curb the availability of advertisers to target users based on protected characteristics. The changes will affect Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. Facebook agreed to create a separate portal for ads in areas of housing, employment and credit. The parties agreed to monitor the changes for three years and to study the potential that the algorithm creates unintended bias. Finally, Facebook promised to change how it targets audiences for advertisements without using protected classes like race and gender to generate an audience.
As of March 2020, the settlement was being enforced.
Micah Telegen - 03/02/2017
Virginia Weeks - 02/22/2018
Cianan Lesley - 04/05/2019
Emma Himes - 03/06/2020
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