Facebook limits ad targeting practice that some saw as enabling racism

The company doesn’t allow advertisers to target users by race, but critics have argued that other features could help marketers work around that prohibition. — AFP

Facebook Inc will retire a controversial ad targeting option that let marketers reach users based on a "multicultural affinity” for certain racial and ethnic groups, including African Americans and Hispanics.

The company doesn’t allow advertisers to target users by race, but critics have argued that other features could help marketers work around that prohibition. Users can be solicited based on "multicultural affinity”, for example, a category based on data collected from their Facebook activity, a spokesperson said.