Facebook will no longer allow advertisers to target or exclude certain races or ethnic groups for ads that promote housing, employment and credit opportunities.
Specifically, advertisers will not be able to target or exclude Facebook's "multicultural advertising segments — which consist of people interested in seeing content related to the African American, Asian American and US Hispanic communities," the company said in a blog post on Wednesday.
Facebook also updated its policies to make it clearer that advertisers may not discriminate based on personal characteristics such as race, gender, and sexual identity.
The social media company was scrutinized for its advertising policy first in October 2016, when ProPublica discovered companies could ask Facebook to not show their ads to select "ethnic affinities." Barring employment or housing based on race is illegal in the U.S. Facebook argued at the time that "ethnic affinities" was not the same as race.
The company said in the blog post "discriminatory advertising has no place on Facebook," and the new rules strengthen its existing position. It is also adding educational resources for advertisers so they can further understand its anti-discrimination policies.