Dozens of Companies Are Using Facebook To Exclude Older Workers From Job Ads (propublica.org)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from ProPublica: Verizon is among dozens of the nation's leading employers -- including Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Target and Facebook itself -- that placed recruitment ads limited to particular age groups, an investigation by ProPublica and The New York Times has found. The ability of advertisers to deliver their message to the precise audience most likely to respond is the cornerstone of Facebook's business model. But using the system to expose job opportunities only to certain age groups has raised concerns about fairness to older workers. Several experts questioned whether the practice is in keeping with the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, which prohibits bias against people 40 or older in hiring or employment. Many jurisdictions make it a crime to "aid" or "abet" age discrimination, a provision that could apply to companies like Facebook that distribute job ads.

Facebook defended the practice. "Used responsibly, age-based targeting for employment purposes is an accepted industry practice and for good reason: it helps employers recruit and people of all ages find work," said Rob Goldman, a Facebook vice president. The revelations come at a time when the unregulated power of the tech companies is under increased scrutiny, and Congress is weighing whether to limit the immunity that it granted to tech companies in 1996 for third-party content on their platforms.

Comments

There is a fine line here

[Q-Hack!]

Age based ads targeting comic books to teenagers, ok. Age based ads targeting IT jobs to Millennials but excluding people aged 40 is a problem.

Re:There is a fine line here

[olsmeister]

OK. How about instead we target IT jobs to people who read comic books? - Your friendly neighborhood HR department

Re:There is a fine line here

[Anonymous Coward]

Age based ads targeting comic books to teenagers, ok. Age based ads targeting IT jobs to Millennials but excluding people aged 40 is a problem.

If Facebook is helping exclude older workers from job offers then they should be hit with the full weight of the law. I don't care if it destroys them. I half think the world would be better off without that mess anyway. We certainly would. Without Facebook, Russia would have lacked a tool to help Von Clownstick get elected. People's private lives should be private, not posted on the Internet. I'd greatly prefer that such sites die and _NOT_ be resurrected with a new name.

That all being said, we do have guaranteed Freedoms including the freedom to be stupid, so the correct thing is just to apply the law and see where it goes. In the very unlikely event Facebook were to die, something likely even more evil will no doubt sprout up to replace it. People really need to remember or learn how important that right to privacy is that is implied in the constitution though and defend it, not give it away.

Very clear defense by Facebook

[MrMr]

I suppose they think I can 'responsibly apply' this accepted industry practice to other demographics like gender, race, religion etc.?

It works both ways

[smooth wombat]

If the idea is to exclude older workers for one or more of the various reasons employers always cite, then similar reasons can be given to exclude people in their 20s.

Such as, irresponsibility, checking their phones rather than doing work, checking Facebook rather than doing work, more willing to request time off, raising a family, the list goes on.

It's always hilarious to hear employers whine they can't find people with experience, who then go out of their way to exclude people with experience.