The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development escalated its actions against Facebook, even after the social media giant had settled a lawsuit with civil rights organizations and taken steps to reform its advertising system.
"The Department of Housing and Urban Development sued Facebook on Thursday for engaging in housing discrimination by allowing advertisers to restrict who is able to see ads on the platform based on characteristics like race, religion and national origin," reports Katie Benner and Glenn Thrush.
"In addition to targeting Facebook’s advertising practices," according to the article the lawsuit accuses the company of "[using] its data-mining practices to determine which of its users are able to view housing-related ads."
Facebook recently settled a lawsuit filed in March 2018 by the National Fair Housing Alliance, the American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights organizations over its advertising practices.
Previously, HUD filed a complaint against Facebook's advertising practices in August 2018, but today's news takes the Trump administration's action against the social media giant a significant step further.
Still, HUD has not had a strong record on housing discrimination enforcement during the Trump administration, as detailed in an article by Glenn Thrush from March 2018.
FULL STORY: Facebook Engages in Housing Discrimination With Its Ad Practices, U.S. Says
Facebook Among Targets of HUD's Latest Round of Fair Housing Enforcement
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is taking on one big fish and a few little fish in the battle against housing discrimination.
How to Fix Racist Housing Policies: Sue the Suburbs
Strengthening U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's civil rights enforcement could send a powerful signal to communities resistant to changing discriminatory housing rules.
HUD Rule Change Allows Landlords to Use Screening Services Despite Discrimination Concerns
A revised U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rule makes it more difficult to submit claims of housing discrimination when a landlord's decisions is influenced by a third-party tenant screening service.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?
Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.
What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.
Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie