Meta rejects French regulator’s ruling on gender discrimination in job ads

Meta has rejected a French regulator's ruling that its Facebook algorithm discriminates against users based on gender in job advertisements.

Global Witness, a US-based charitable organization, along with women’s rights organizations Fondation des Femmes and Femmes Ingénieures, filed a complaint with the Défenseur des Droits, a French independent human rights group.

The interest groups claimed that Meta was violating French anti-discrimination laws due to sexist recommendations on Facebook in job advertisements.

Last month, Défenseur des Droits ruled that Meta’s Facebook algorithm treats users differently based on their gender in its job ads. The regulator argued that “the system implemented to disseminate job opportunities treats users of the Facebook platform differently because of their gender and constitutes indirect discrimination based on sex.”

Simply put, depending on their gender, users were deliberately shown different job vacancies on Facebook.

The human rights organization recommended that Meta Ireland and Facebook France make adjustments to put an end to this form of indirect discrimination based on sex. It gave the tech company three months to take measures.

Facebook’s parent company now rejects the ruling. “We disagree with this decision and are assessing our options,” a company spokesperson told press agency Reuters.

Global Witness and the women’s advocacy groups welcomed the ruling.

“The ruling from Défenseur des Droits shows that social media platforms like Facebook are not above existing law and must ensure their services do not discriminate. According to existing anti-discrimination legislation in France, it is unlawful to make a prohibited distinction based on gender when displaying job adverts. This helps avoid perpetuating gender inequality and gender discrimination in the labor market,” Global Witness said in a joint statement.

According to Josephine Shefet, a lawyer representing the organizations, the ruling clearly recognizes the illegality of algorithmic discrimination.

“The decision sends a strong message to all digital platforms: they will be held accountable for such bias. The legal principle establishes an important precedent for future cases,” she said.

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