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ARTICLE · 09 MAY 2023

Targeted Online Advertising Forms Basis For Quebec Class Action

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"Discrimination and collective action – cross-cutting themes in cyberspace"1 is how the Quebec Court of Appeal captioned the recent decision of Beaulieu v. Facebook Inc., 2022 QCCA 1736.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Jordanna Cytrynbaum
Jordanna Cytrynbaum
Jeremy Martin
Jeremy Martin
Kailey Hubele
Kailey Hubele
Shayna L. Clarke
Shayna L. Clarke
Danielle Hill
Danielle Hill
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OVERVIEW

"Discrimination and collective action – cross-cutting themes in cyberspace"1 is how the Quebec Court of Appeal captioned the recent decision of Beaulieu v. Facebook Inc., 2022 QCCA 1736. The Court allowed an appeal of a decision refusing to authorize a class action on behalf of Facebook users in Quebec who claimed they were discriminated against because of targeted job and housing advertising based on their age, sex, or race.

BACKGROUND

In April 2019, Lyse Beaulieu commenced a class action against Facebook under Article 575 of the Québec Code of Civil Procedure. Beaulieu accused Facebook of violating the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms by, among other things, allowing and delivering employment or housing advertisements preferentially to certain individuals based on their age, sex, or race, or withholding those advertisements on the same prohibited grounds, whether by the express wishes of the advertiser or by the operation of the

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