Facebook is required to have gender equality in its advertising. If practices are not improved soon, it could lead to “significantly large” fines.
In addition to Facebook, Meta owns Instagram and Whatsapp. LUKAS COCH
Meta, the parent company of the social media service Facebook, has received four notices from European human rights organizations. According to human rights organizations, Meta recommends jobs based on gender using its algorithm. Told about it CNN.
This means that, for example, mechanic jobs are advertised more to male users, and nanny jobs more to female users. In other words, the algorithm is guided by assumptions about what representatives of that gender do for work.
The matter had been settled Global Witness -organization. The survey was made with the help of data obtained from the management of Facebook ads. According to them, the bias of algorithms does not only concern Europe, but is a global problem.
– The cause for concern is that Facebook strengthens society’s prejudices and weakens opportunities for advancement and equality in the workplace, Campaign Manager for Digital Threats to Democracy at Global Witness Naomi Hirst told CNN.
In addition to job advertisements, the service is accused of targeting content in a gendered manner, for example in housing and financial themes.
Algorithms are instructions based on data processing, based on which, for example, Facebook targets content to its users. In some cases, artificial intelligence or machine learning may also be involved.
The gaps in society are growing
According to human rights organizations, the problem is not only gendered. According to them, many are left out of job advertisements that match their abilities because of algorithms.
For example, in France, the service’s job advertisements are often browsed by people with lower incomes.
– This means that the separation driven by the algorithm hits those who are already in a socially weaker position the most, des Femme foundation lawyer Caroline Leroy-Blanvilliain stated.
This has been pointed out several times
Facebook’s advertising practices have been pointed out before. Global Witness has complained about the matter to, among others, the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission. The matter is under investigation by the Commission.
The company has been in trouble several times during the past decade, also on the other side of the Atlantic. In 2019, as a solution to several legal disputes in the United States, the company said it would fix its algorithms so that advertising would not be targeted based on individual characteristics, such as skin color or gender.
Meta’s representative has stated to Global Witness that their system, however, aims to target the content of the service to those who are most interested in it.
The company has not commented on the latest remarks.
Big fines around the corner
According to CNN, if Facebook’s data practices were investigated more closely, it could eventually lead to “significantly large” fines from the EU. The EU’s data protection regulation GDPR prohibits the use of data that promotes discrimination.
According to the GDPR, the maximum fines imposed on companies for violations are either 20 million euros or 4 percent of global turnover. Meta’s turnover in 2022 was around 105 billion euros.
However, the challenge for studying this is that Meta does not release much information about the operation of its algorithms. If the remarks of human rights organizations do not work, then at least the fines waiting around the corner will probably put pressure on Meta to improve its operations.