June 6th 2024.
In a recent research paper published in 2024, it was suggested that Facebook's advertising algorithm may have been disproportionately targeting Black users with ads for for-profit colleges. This discovery was made by a group of academic professionals from Princeton and the University of Southern California, who took matters into their own hands after the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, did not provide any explanation for the uneven targeting.
The group conducted a study by purchasing ads from Facebook and tracking their performance among real users. The results revealed evidence of racial discrimination in Meta's algorithm, specifically in the delivery of ads for education opportunities. This raised legal and ethical concerns, as for-profit colleges such as DeVry and Grand Canyon University have a history of using deceptive marketing tactics and have faced penalties from the Department of Education.
To conduct the study, the group purchased two sets of ads, one for a public institution like Colorado State University and the other for a for-profit college like Strayer University. The researchers made sure that the schools involved were not aware of the study. They used a clever strategy to target a sample audience of 50% Black and 50% white users by utilizing North Carolina voter registration data. This allowed them to infer the race of the users who saw the ads based on their location.
While Facebook's advertising platform offers various targeting options such as age and location, race is no longer an option that can be selected. However, the researchers found a way around this by using voter registration data. This raises concerns about the fairness and neutrality of the algorithm, as it allegedly showed a bias towards Black users by disproportionately showing them ads for for-profit colleges.
Meta's spokesperson, Daniel Roberts, stated that they are aware of the challenges regarding fairness in advertising and have been working with civil rights groups, academics, and regulators to address the issue. Their advertising standards do not allow discrimination based on personal attributes like race. However, in 2016, a report revealed that Facebook allowed advertisers to exclude users from campaigns based on their race. Since then, the company has removed this option, but the study suggests that the algorithm still recreates historical racial skew without the advertisers' knowledge.
In conclusion, the study raises concerns about the algorithm's fairness and emphasizes the need for further progress in this area. While Facebook claims to be working towards addressing these issues, it is essential for companies to be transparent and accountable for their algorithms' consequences. Discrimination has no place in advertising, and it is crucial to ensure that all users are treated equally and fairly.
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