NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR AUTHORIZATION TO INSTITUTE A CLASS ACTION: BEAULIEU V. FACEBOOK (April 11, 2019)
Update: Hearing on Authorization and Change to the Class Definition (January 20, 2021)
A hearing on authorization took place before the Quebec Superior Court on January 15, 2020. The matter is under reserve.
At the hearing, the Court authorized the following change to the class definition:
All Facebook users located in Québec who were interested in receiving or pursuing employment or who were seeking housing and who, as a result of their race, sex, civil status, age, ethnic or national origin, or social condition, were excluded by Facebook’s advertising services from receiving advertisements for employment or housing opportunities, or who were explicitly excluded from eligibility for these opportunities through advertisements posted on Facebook, between April 11, 2016 and the date of judgment in the present proceedings.
This means that the action sought to be certified only concerns individuals in Quebec.
A further update will be provided once the decision on authorization has been rendered.
For more information about this class action, please contact Audrey Boctor at aboctor@imk.ca, Jean-Michel Boudreau at jmboudreau@imk.ca, or Olga Redko at oredko@imk.ca. You can also call 514-935-4460.
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NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR AUTHORIZATION TO INSTITUTE A CLASS ACTION: BEAULIEU V. FACEBOOK (April 11, 2019)
IMK LLP has filed an Application for Authorization to Institute a Class Action against Facebook, Inc. and Facebook Canada Ltd. (collectively “Facebook”), which is alleged to have engaged in and facilitated discriminatory advertising practices that exclude certain individuals from offers of housing and employment.
The class includes:
All Facebook users located in Canada who were interested in receiving or pursuing employment or who were seeking housing and who, as a result of their race, sex, civil status, age, ethnic or national origin, or social condition, were excluded by Facebook’s advertising services from receiving advertisements for employment or housing opportunities, or who were explicitly excluded from eligibility for these opportunities through advertisements posted on Facebook, between April 11, 2016 and the date of judgment in the present proceedings.
The action alleges that (1) Facebook permits companies to use its advertising targeting tools to illegally exclude individuals from receiving employment and housing advertisements on the basis of prohibited grounds; (2) Facebook permits companies to explicitly exclude persons from consideration for such opportunities on the basis of prohibited grounds; and (3) Facebook’s own algorithms result in discriminatory delivery of advertisements to the platform’s users.
In allowing and facilitating these practices, Facebook breached and continues to breach class members’ rights under Quebec’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and the applicable human rights legislation in each other province and territory.
The suit seeks compensatory, moral and punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial as well as an injunction ordering Facebook to end the prohibited practices.
Under Quebec law, everyone who is a member of the class is automatically included unless they decide to opt out. The opt-out procedure will be determined at a later date by the Court, so there is nothing that you are required to do right now.
However, if you have information about Facebook’s actions as they relate to this claim, please contact us at aboctor@imk.ca, jmboudreau@imk.ca, or oredko@imk.ca or call 514 935-4460 and ask to speak to Audrey Boctor, Jean-Michel Boudreau, or Olga Redko.
If you are interested in receiving updates about the class action as it develops, please fill out the information requested below. We will keep this information confidential and will only use it to communicate with you regarding updates to the class action.
Last name
First name
Age
Province of residence
Email address
Phone number
Possible grounds of discrimination (select all that apply)
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