Discrimination in Facebook Advertising, the SALT Deduction, and More

October 23, 2021

Solving the problem of racially discriminatory advertising on Facebook

While Facebook profiles may not explicitly state users’ race or ethnicity, the company’s current advertising algorithms can still discriminate by these factors. To address this issue, regulators and advocacy groups should demand greater ad targeting transparency, more algorithmic bias auditing, and a “fairness through awareness” approach by Facebook and its advertisers, Jinyan Zang writes.

Competing over climate: Myanmar’s valuable and climate-vulnerable geography

Though climate change impacts the whole planet, climate disasters are playing out very differently in the various oceans of the world. The reality of that variation is not driving international cooperation like one would hope, but is actually adding to the competition over the world’s seas, Bruce Jones contends.

Listen: Ending the SALT deduction

On the latest episode of the Brookings Cafeteria podcast, Richard Reeves says the state and local taxes (SALT) deduction mostly benefits the wealthiest American taxpayers, gives little or no benefit to the middle class, and should be eliminated entirely. Also on this episode, David Wessel explains why inflation is back in the U.S. and what the Federal Reserve can do about it.

Upcoming webinars to watch

A conversation with Fiona Hill. On October 25, the Foreign Policy program at Brookings will host a keynote conversation with Fiona Hill, renowned policymaker, historian, and author of the new book “There Is Nothing for You Here.”

What’s next for U.S. energy tax policy? Ahead of the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, climate and tax policy experts will gather on October 27 to discuss the Biden administration’s effort to reduce emissions, recent energy tax policy proposals, and more.

The future of tech governance. Groundbreaking technologies like AI have immense potential to change the world for the better, but they come with significant risks. To help answer key questions facing governments, the Brookings Global Forum on Democracy and Technology will bring experts together for a symposium on October 27.

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