Expanded view of problematic job advertisement using Facebook as "displaying job-targeted advertisements targeting young people"

ByHamza Butt

Several companies have been sued by the fact that it is realizing by using the "targeted advertisement" provided by Facebook that job-based advertisements that are supposed to be prohibited by law are narrowed down. Whether Facebook, which provides the platform, is to be charged with its responsibility is a part where judgment is likely to be divided, but labor organizations that look at the situation are expanding the scope of the complaint.

Facebook Tools Are Used to Screen Out Older Job Seekers, Lawsuit Claims - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-29/facebook-tools-are-used-to-screen-out-older-job-seekers-lawsuit-claims

This appeal was what the American Communication Labor Union (CWA) originated in December 2017. Initially it was a defendant of Amazon.com, media companies Cox Media Group and Cox Communications, communication carrier T-Mobile, etc. On 29th May 2018 CWA updated the complaint, furniture retail We added Ikea, a rental car company Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Maryland Medical System University, etc. to the list of companies that select employees by using the structure of Facebook.

In the United States, it is forbidden by the law to distinguish applicants for recruitment based on race, religion, gender, country of origin and age when conducting recruitment. This law is applied to companies that have more than a certain number of employees and it is illegal to display conditions such as "only white people", "only men", "under 35 years old" when sending job advertisements , It is also possible to impose punitive damages on offenders.

However, there is a fact that Facebook targeted advertisement is used to scoop this rule, movement to look at that is widespread. As stated in its terms of service, on Facebook, it is a business model to display advertisements according to the attributes of users. Originally it is to increase the efficiency of advertisement by displaying advertisements of products that are likely to be interested based on a specific age group, gender, behavioral orientation, but by using this mechanism, The act of eliminating the users of the age group other than the target in advance is increasing when displaying it.

Discussion that Facebook management is discriminatory and illegal not delivering recruitment ads to elderly users - GIGAZINE


CWA said on this subject that "When Facebook's operating algorithm biases advertisements towards young workers excluding older workers, using Facebook and Facebook as advertisement display agents An advertiser who is in charge is engaged in a totally different act from what the law intends. "

In this update, Facebook is also condemned that Facebook is also conducting recruitment that narrows down the age group when recruiting its own talent. According to Bloomberg's survey, CWA complains Facebook's illegal action to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in January 2018. CWA lawyer Peter Romerle Friedman said, "Because Facebook is the largest employment agency in the world history, it is important that EEOC tackle strict and comprehensive research on Facebook." It is.


In response to this, Facebook's advertising vice president, Rob Goldman, in a comment as of December 2017 stated that "Facebook is coordinating recruitment advertisements according to users", while " , I completely deny the appeal that these recruitment ads are discriminatory, "indicating that the content being sued is not reasonable. Also, for other companies included in the action, Facebook is seeking to help those companies understand their legal responsibilities while adhering to the content of the law.

Mr. Goldman also said that advertisements for specific age groups are also displayed in magazines and television, etc. "It is assumed that targeting activities based on age to be carried out for recruitment purposes will be utilized with responsibility, It is recognized in the industry by the industry, and for just reasons the job recruitment of employers and helping people of all generations get jobs "is stated.

Mr. Efeoma Ajungwa, a lawyer / sociologist who is a teacher at Cornell University Industrial and Labor Relations School, said in his latest CWA case, "There is a possibility that the transition to employment-related activities will shift to the Internet platform" I said. Also, Mr. Ajungwa said, "The place where discrimination problems of the same type as seen in traditional employment happens is now only moving to another platform." "The new way to use the Internet is It can be seen that the situation is getting worse because space is more flexible due to more certainty and accidental events are less likely to occur, "according to the targeted advertisement platform like Facebook Pointed out the situation that the problems pointed out from the company are getting worse.