Facebook Job Ad Microtargeting: Getting The Right "Fit" Or Is This Discrimination?

Long gone are the days when job seekers flipped through the daily newspaper in search of their next gig. In the internet age, social media connects employers and job seekers with relative ease.

For employers, social media platforms have become the advertising medium of choice given their ability to collect vast amounts of data on users, including likes, dislikes, geographic location, age, race and gender. In the employment context, microtargeting involves the use of this data to target advertisements to potential job candidates. It provides employers with a cost-effective and efficient means of attracting potential candidates in the ever elusive search for the "right fit". However, there is a fine line between microtargeting and discriminatory pre-employment practices that may be found to run afoul of the law. On its face these advertisements may be neutral with no reference to protected grounds. However, this will not necessarily preclude a finding of discrimination