FACEBOOK is being sued by workers who say the company excluded women from seeing certain job ads.

Campaigners fighting Facebook say the site is "shutting out" women from hearing about job opportunities, and said it gives "new life" to discrimination.

8 Facebook is accused of targeting specific job ads at men, not women

8 Jobs that women are able to do were routinely shown to men only, campaigners say

Three female workers and the Communications Workers of America Union – which represents over 700,000 workers – and the American Civil Liberties Union are behind the complaint.

They say that ads for jobs in male-dominated industries – like lorry drivers, mechanics and roofers – were targeted at men, not women.

"Our members have been on the frontlines ensuring that women have opportunities to apply to and be hired for any job they're qualified to do," said Sara Steffens, of the Communications Workers of America union.

"Despite the progress we have made, stereotypes and biases clearly still influence corporate hiring strategies.

8 Campaigners argue that Facebook has given "new life" to discrimination with sexist ad targeting

8 Facebook is facing a class action suit that could involve hundreds of thousands of complainants

"Shame on these employers for targeting ads based on gender, and shame on Facebook for facilitating this practice."

Facebook delivers ads based on details you provide – and information it tracks about you using cookies.

It doesn't directly sell information to advertisers.

Instead, companies used Facebook's advertising system to decide who they want to target.

These companies will then upload their ads, and Facebook will push those ads to the target groups.

8 Facebook's website lets you upload details about yourself to your profile Credit: ACLU

8 Advertisers can then use Facebook to create custom audiences based on your personal information Credit: ACLU

8 Custom audiences created by advertisers can then be used to exclude certain groups from ad campaigns Credit: ACLU

It's usually a harmless system.

For instance, companies based in London might want to limit their ads to only show up for people listed as living in London.

But it's also possible to exclude "custom audiences", groups of people who you may not want to target with an ad.

In this custom audience, you could select a gender, defined as "men", "women", or "all".

You could also exclude people who have liked pages or interests on Facebook, like "Strong Single Moms!" or "The Single Moms Club" or "Soccer Mom".

8 Clicking on ads will give you the option to see why you've been excluded from a campaign Credit: ACLU

The ACLU says Facebook is allowing businesses to target their job ads to exclusively male Facebook users in this way.

Galen Sherwin, of the ACLU Women's Rights Project, said: "Sex segregated job advertising has historically been used to shut women out of well-paying jobs and economic opportunities.

"We can't let gender-based ad targeting online give new life to a form of discrimination that should have been eradicated long ago."

Facebook, along with 10 other employers and ad agencies, are being sued.

These include: Abas USA, Defenders, Nebraska Furniture Mart, City of Greensboro NC Police Department, Need Work Today, Renewal by Andersen LLC, Rice Tire, JK Moving Services, Enhanced Roofing & Modeling, and Xenith.

"I've heard stories about when people looked for jobs in the classified ads and big bold letters read 'help wanted-male' or help wanted-female'," said Boobi Spees, the lead complainant in the case.

"I shouldn't be shut out of the chance to hear about a job opportunity just because I am a woman."

How to turn of Facebook targeted ads Here's what you need to know... You can opt out of targeted ads on Facebook very easily

First, log onto your Facebook page

Then click Settings

Next, go into Ads

Then click on the Ads Based On My Use Of Websites And Apps setting

Press the Choose Setting button

Then select Off

This won't mean you see less ads overall

But it will mean ads will probably be less relevant to you

However, it does means ads won't be targeted at you based on your personal info

Social networks aren't typically accountable for the content that gets posted on them.

But lawyers hope to pin Facebook to the wall, regardless.

They'll claim that Facebook is legally responsible for creating and operating an ad system that "encourages" employers to select the gender and age of people who see their job ads.

It'll also be argued that Facebook delivers those ads unlawfully, and effectively acts as a recruiter, connecting employers with prospective employees.

"The internet did not erase our civil rights laws," said Peter Reomer-Friedman, an attorney at Outten & Goulden working on the case.

"It violates the law if an employer uses Facebook to deny job ads to women.

"The last time I checked, you don't have to be a man to be a truck driver or a police officer.

"But Facebook and employers are acting like it's the 1950s, before federal employment law banned sex discrimination."

In a statement sent to The Sun, a Facebook spokesperson said it doesn't allow discriminatory practices.

"There is no place for discrimination of Facebook; it's strictly prohibited in our polices, and over the past year, we've strengthened our systems to further protect against misuse.

"We are reviewing the complaint and look forward to defending our practices."

Facebook also told us that it carefully reviews targeting tools to make sure they're safe and civil.

The social network plans to require all advertisers to consent that they will comply with Facebook's anti-discrimination policies and the law.

The site gets feedback from privacy, data ethics and civil rights experts on its policies, too.

Facebook also reminds advertisers about anti-discrimination policies before they create campaigns around housing, employment or credit.

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This isn't the first time Facebook has been accused of delivery discriminatory ads.

Back in July, the company was forced to sign an agreement to stop discriminating based on race for housing ads.

Facebook removed 5,000 categories that let advertisiers exclude minorities following a 20-month investigation that began in 2016.

"Facebook’s advertising platform allowed unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, sexual orientation, disability and religion," said Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, in a statement at the time.

"That’s wrong, illegal, and unfair."

We've asked Facebook for comment and will update this story with any response.

What do you make of Facebook's latest gaffe? Let us know in the comments!

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