Facebook could be the subject of a class - action lawsuit for allegedly promoting discrimination through its advertising platform . A San Francisco federal district court complaint claims financial services adverts on the social network were targeted away from women and those over the age of 40 . The complaint alleges Facebook enables discrimination by having advertisers dictate who sees their adverts based on factors such as age and gender . Facebook paid nearly $5 million to , including the one brought by Outten & Golden. Such practices could be a violation of California 's Unruh Civil Rights Act , which entitles all citizens in the state to full and equal advantages , services and privileges in all business establishments .
Facebook could be the subject of a class - action lawsuit for allegedly promoting discrimination through its advertising platform . A San Francisco federal district court complaint claims financial services adverts on the social network were targeted away from women and those over the age of 40 . The complaint alleges Facebook enables discrimination by having advertisers dictate who sees their adverts based on factors such as age and gender . Such practices could be a violation of California 's Unruh Civil Rights Act , which entitles all citizens in the state to full and equal advantages , services and privileges in all business establishments .