By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Meta Platforms on Tuesday rejected a ruling by the French rights watchdog against its algorithm after allegations of discriminatory job advertisements on its social
Meta Challenges French Ruling on Algorithm Discrimination in Ads
Meta's Response to Algorithm Discrimination Ruling
By Foo Yun Chee
Overview of the Ruling
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Meta Platforms on Tuesday rejected a ruling by the French rights watchdog against its algorithm after allegations of discriminatory job advertisements on its social network Facebook.
Implications for Big Tech
The independent watchdog Defenseur des Droits (Defender of Rights) in an October 10 ruling said Meta's system treats Facebook users differently because of their gender, making it a form of indirect discrimination based on sex.
Campaign Group Reactions
It recommended Meta Ireland and Facebook France take measures to ensure that job ads are non-discriminatory, giving the U.S. tech giant three months to inform the French body of the measures.
The case underscores French authorities' tough line against Big Tech whether on antitrust or privacy grounds.
"We disagree with this decision and are assessing our options," a Meta spokesperson said.
Campaign group Global Witness together with French women's rights organisations Foundation for Women (Fondation des Femmes) and Women Engineers (Femmes Ingénieures), which had complained to the rights body, welcomed the ruling.
"This appears to be the first time a European regulator has decided that a social media platform's algorithm discriminates by gender, presenting a major step forward in holding these platforms accountable to existing law," they said in a joint statement.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
