Facebook Inc
Facebook confirmed the agreement with the state, and said the announcement is part of a long process to ensure that tools used to target ads on the social network are safe, civil, and fair.
"We`ve removed thousands of categories related to potentially sensitive personal attributes — like race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and religion — from our exclusion targeting tools," the company said, pointing to its efforts from over a year-and-a-half.
The legally binding agreement with Washington state requires Facebook to make the changes to its ad platform within 90 days, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said. (https://bit.ly/2Lj5AxT)
"Facebook`s advertising platform allowed unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, sexual orientation, disability and religion," Ferguson said.
The agreement concludes a 20-month investigation by Ferguson`s office that began after non-profit ProPublica published an article on Facebook`s advertisement targeting, Ferguson said.
"Discriminatory advertising has no place on our platform, and we`ll continue to improve our ad products," Facebook Vice President of state and local policy Will Castleberry said.
(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
02:45 AM IST