Facebook to block discriminatory ads in ‘historic’ legal accord; says won’t allow targeting on age, gender and location

Facebook said it will make major changes to its rules for advertisers in order to settle a string of lawsuits alleging its platform enables discrimination in housing, credit and employment.

“Getting this right is deeply important to me and all of us at Facebook,” Sheryl Sandberg, the company’s chief operating officer, said in a blog post to be published Tuesday. The social media platform called the settlement “historic” and expressed gratitude to the National Fair Housing Alliance and the American Civil Liberties Union, two of the groups that sued it in the first place. “Today’s changes mark an important step in our broader effort to prevent discrimination and promote fairness and inclusion on Facebook.”