Class-action lawsuit against Facebook claiming discrimination gets the green light - Lawsuit alleges the social media giant allowed advertisers to discriminate on basis of age, gender, race

The Quebec Court of Appeal has approved a class-action lawsuit launched on behalf of Facebook users who claim they were discriminated against because the social media giant allowed advertisers to target job and housing ads based on factors like age, gender or race.

The class action could include thousands of Quebec residents who have used Facebook since April 2016 and who were looking for jobs or housing during that period.

Facebook has 60 days after the court's Dec. 22 ruling to decide whether to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. If it does not appeal, the case returns to the Quebec Superior Court.

Audrey Boctor, a lawyer with the Montreal law firm IMK who launched the class action application in 2019, said the ruling "offers a way forward for claims that might otherwise never be brought."

"We are very pleased with the Quebec Court of Appeal judgment that recognizes that class actions are an appropriate vehicle for claims of widespread, surreptitious discrimination," Boctor said.

"Algorithmic discrimination that excludes people such as women and older workers from receiving employment advertisements is just a modern form of the same type of discrimination that is illegal under the Quebec Charter."