Facebook settles with rights groups on ad discrimination

WASHINGTON - Facebook unveiled major changes to how it uses targeted advertising on Tuesday, settling a legal challenge alleging it discriminated in messages on jobs, housing, credit and other services.

The leading social network said housing, employment or credit ads will no longer be allowed to target by age, gender or zip code -- a practice critics argued had led to discrimination.

The changes came as part of a settlement with the National Fair American Civil Liberties Union, National Fair Housing Alliance, Communication Workers of America and others.

"Today's changes mark an important step in our broader effort to prevent discrimination and promote fairness and inclusion on Facebook," chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said in a statement announcing the changes.

"But our work is far from over. We're committed to doing more, and we look forward to engaging in serious consultation and work with key civil rights groups, experts and policymakers to help us find the right path forward."

The ACLU called the agreement a "historic settlement" that will result in major changes to Facebook's advertising platform.

Under the settlement, Facebook will take proactive steps to prevent advertisers from discrimination when sending job, housing or credit ads to users of Facebook, Instagram and Messenger. 

"Advertisers will no longer be able to exclude users from learning about opportunities for housing, employment or credit based on gender, age or other protected characteristics," ACLU attorneys Galen Sherwin and Esha Bhandari said in a blog post.

"Ad-targeting platforms can be used to exclude users on the basis of race, gender or age, as well as interests or groups that can serve as proxies for those categories (think 'soccer moms' or 'Kwanzaa celebrators')."

The ACLU said it began exerting pressure on Facebook several years ago to stop its use of an "ethnic affinity" category, which labeled users as Asian American, Hispanic or African American based on what they liked on Facebook.

The organization said Facebook took some steps to eliminate discriminatory targeting but did not always follow through. 

For certain ad categories, Facebook will create a separate portal for such ads with a much more limited set of targeting options excluding Facebook users' age, gender, race or other characteristics.

Facebook will also implement a system of automated and human review to ensure compliance and to study the potential for unintended biases in algorithmic modeling.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Suspect in Virginia TV shooting had history of workplace issues

The suspected gunman in the shooting deaths of two television journalists in Virginia on Wednesday was a veteran anchorman with a history of workplace grievances who had previously sued a Florida station alleging discrimination because he was black.

While authorities said they had not determined a motive, perceived racism appeared to be a factor in the shootings, according to recent postings the suspect is believed to have made on social media and a fax that ABC News said the suspect sent.

Vester Flanagan, 41, who went on the air under the name Bryce Williams, was a former employee of RacistWDBJ7 in Virginia, where both of the slain journalists worked. The journalists, who were both white, were killed during a live television broadcast earlier this morning.

Posts on a Twitter feed by a man identifying himself as Bryce Williams, Flanagan's on-air name, accused one of the victims of "racist comments," and noted that a complaint had been filed with a government agency that enforces discrimination claims.

In a 23-page fax ABC News said was sent two hours after the shooting, he cited as his tipping point the racially motivated shooting that killed nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, earlier this summer.

Saying he had suffered racial discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying at work, Flanagan described himself as "a human powder keg," the network said.

Flanagan aired similar grievances in a 2000 lawsuit filed in U.S. federal court against a Florida station, WTWC-TV in Tallahassee. In that suit, he said a producer had called him a "monkey," and he accused a supervisor of calling black people lazy for not taking advantage of college scholarship opportunities.

The Florida case was settled and dismissed the next year, court records show.

One of his former Florida colleagues remembered Flanagan as "quirky," but said he never displayed behavior suggesting he would be capable of such a violent crime.

"He had his idiosyncrasies, a little quirky sometimes," said Michael Walker, the weekend producer at the Tallahassee station when Flanagan was working as a weekend anchor. "It probably wasn't any different than any other on-air personality."

Walker, who is also black, noted that he had not experienced discrimination at the station.

Flanagan, who accused the station of terminating his contract because he had filed a report of racism with a state agency, said in the lawsuit he suffered emotional distress and financial losses as a result of his treatment at the station.

The NBC affiliate, which stopped broadcasting newscasts in late 2000, said at the time of the lawsuit that his contract was not renewed due to "corporate belt-tightening," according to an article in the Tallahassee Democrat at that time.

Representatives from the station could not immediately be reached for comment.

Flanagan's 20-year career in journalism included stints at local news stations in San Francisco; Savannah, Georgia; and Midland, Texas, according to his LinkedIn profile. It said he also worked briefly outside of journalism as a customer service representative.

He graduated from San Francisco State University in 1995 with a degree in radio and television, the school confirmed.

According to a Facebook page believed to belong to the suspect, he was originally from Oakland, California, but most recently living in Roanoke, Virginia, where WDBJ7 broadcasts.

There, he gained a reputation as someone who was difficult to work with because of his anger, station manager Jeff Marks said during a live broadcast.

"Vester was an unhappy man," Marks said, adding that he had to be escorted out of the building by police after he was terminated from the station in 2013.

"He did not take that well," he added.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Obama challenges Kenya on gay rights, corruption

NAIROBI, Kenya -- US President Barack Obama on Saturday called for gay rights in Africa during his landmark visit to Kenya, comparing homophobia to racial discrimination he had encountered in the United States.

In a joint press conference after talks with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Obama also pushed a tough message on Kenyan corruption, the civil war in South Sudan, controversial elections in Burundi and the fight against Somalia's Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebab militants.

Obama arrived in Kenya on Friday, his first visit as president to his father's birthplace and the first to the East African nation by a serving US leader.

"I've been consistent all across Africa on this. When you start treating people differently, because they're different, that's the path whereby freedoms begin to erode. And bad things happen," he said after talks with the Kenyan leader, in response to a question on gay rights.

"As an African-America in the United States I am painfully aware of what happens when people are treated differently under the law. I am unequivocal on this," Obama told a joint news conference, openly disagreeing with Kenyatta.

He said that the notion "a law-abiding citizen... will be treated differently or abused because of who they love is wrong, full stop."

Homophobia is on the rise in Africa, and espousing evangelical Christian values is a major vote winner in many countries. Kenyatta replied by repeating the view that gay rights were "a non-issue."

"There are some things that we must admit we don't share. It's very difficult for us to impose on people that which they themselves do not accept. This is why I say for Kenyans today the issue of gay rights is really a non-issue," Kenyatta said.

A presidential visit to Kenya had been delayed while Kenyatta faced charges of crimes against humanity for his role in post-election violence seven years ago. The International Criminal Court has since dropped the case, citing a lack of evidence and accusing Kenya of bribing or intimidating witnesses.

- 'Get tough on corruption' -

Kenyan Vice President William Ruto, whose ICC trial continues, is also vocally homophobic and recently described gays as "dirty". Obama nevertheless shook his hand on arrival at State House.

Obama also had firm words for Kenya on civil rights and corruption, describing endemic graft as "the single biggest impediment to Kenya growing even faster," and saying people were being "consistently sapped by corruption at a high level and at a low level."

Obama said there was a need for "visible prosecutions" to show citizens action was being taken.

"They don't have to be a forensic accountant to know what is going on," Obama said, giving the example of officials driving expensive cars or building houses far above what their salaries would allow.

The two leaders also pledged greater cooperation against Somalia's Shebab, who have also been at the top of the list of security concerns during the visit.

Nairobi has witnessed massive security operations involving at least 10,000 police officers, with parts of the usually traffic-clogged capital locked down until Obama's scheduled departure late Sunday for neighbouring Ethiopia.

Shebab fighters have staged a string of suicide attacks and bombings on Kenyan soil, including the April massacre at Garissa university, in which 148 people died, and the 2013 assault on the Westgate shopping mall in central Nairobi that killed 67.

"We have systematically reduced the territory that Al-Shebab controls. We have been able to decrease their effective control within Somalia and have weakened those networks operating here in East Africa. That doesn't mean the problem is solved," Obama said.

Earlier Obama laid a wreath at the memorial site of the former US embassy destroyed in an Al-Qaeda attack in 1998, standing in silence in memory of the 224 killed in the twin bombings in Nairobi and Tanzania.

He wrapped up the evening with a state dinner with Kenyatta, with the atmosphere lively and friendly.

- 'Africa on the move' -

Obama also called for an end to the 19-month-old civil war in South Sudan, urging the country's warring leaders to "put their country first." The conflict there is set to be high on the agenda for the next stage of his visit to Ethiopia, also the seat of the African Union.

This week's elections in the central African nation of Burundi, which delivered a controversial third term to President Pierre Nkurunziza, "weren't credible," Obama said.

Despite the areas of disagreement, the president said he was delighted to be back and praised Africa's entrepreneurship at a business summit earlier Saturday.

"It is wonderful to be back in Kenya," Obama said. "Obviously this is personal for me. My father came from these parts."

Barack Obama Sr was a pipe-smoking economist who the US leader has admitted he "never truly" knew. He walked out when Obama was just two and died in a car crash in Nairobi in 1982, aged 46. Obama still has extended family in western Kenya, who he dined with on Friday evening.

"I wanted to be here, because Africa is on the move, Africa is one of the fastest growing regions in the world," he said, drawing cheers and applause from delegates.

"People are being lifted out of poverty, incomes are up, the middle class is growing and young people like you are harnessing technology to change the way Africa is doing business."

He also vowed to return, sketching plans for philanthropic work once he leaves office.

"The next time I'm back, I may not be wearing a suit," he joked.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Ferguson cleans up, but passions still inflamed

Protesters tried to storm St Louis city hall on Wednesday after two days of nationwide protests against the decision not to prosecute a white policeman who shot an unarmed black teenager.

Extra police and a National Guard Humvee were drafted to protect the building, as events in Ferguson, Missouri inspired coast-to-coast anger in America and even a rally across the Atlantic in London.

But, despite simmering fury over Officer Darren Wilson's August killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown, there were signs that as night -- and a light snow -- fell on Ferguson the situation was stabilizing.

Volunteer clean-up crews, including children and families, were sweeping the streets of the St Louis suburb where on Monday and Tuesday angry crowds torched businesses and looted stores.

Heavy security -- police, state troopers and National Guard troops -- was still visible in the streets, but even Tuesday night had not seen the scale of destruction that followed Monday's decision.

"I think generally it was a much better night," St Louis County police chief Jon Belmar told reporters, despite a police car having been set on fire and more businesses having been attacked.

Beyond Ferguson, authorities were on the watch for more of the protest marches that sprang up across the country on Tuesday.

Many thousands of people joined demonstrations in dozens of cities -- a relatively rare occurrence in America, and evidence that the case has struck a raw nerve in race relations.

On Wednesday, the movement jumped the Atlantic to Britain, where thousands of sympathizers angered by Brown's treatment marched in London chanting the same slogan: "Hands up, don't shoot."

"We need to send a message to Mike Brown's family," said Carol Duggan, the aunt of Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old black man whose shooting by British police in 2011 sparked riots in London.

US civil rights leaders have called for more protests on Saturday.

Similar rallies were held last year after the acquittal on murder charges of neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who shot dead another unarmed black teen, Trayvon Martin, in Florida.

Moving on

In Ferguson, where the National Guard presence was tripled to 2,200 on Tuesday in a bid to quell violence, residents said on the eve of Thanksgiving that they hoped looting and arson would stop.

"I agree you can have your right to say what you feel like saying but when you go beyond that, I do not agree with that at all," said John Adams, who works at a car care center that was damaged.

"We're kind of out of a job right now until this is done," he said.

"I think if you're going to destroy stuff, destroy something of your own."

Karen Gold, who owns a shop selling repurposed furniture and handmade items from local artists near the Ferguson city hall, painted festive scenes on her boarded-up shop front Wednesday.

"Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I hope we can pull together as a community," Gold, who is white, told AFP.

"I want to move on from this."

Brown's mother, Lesley McSpadden, told CBS News that they hoped protests would remain peaceful.

"We continue to ask for calm," McSpadden said.

'Crazy'

Brown's parents however had harsher words for Darren Wilson, the officer who shot their son and said Tuesday he had a "clean conscience" about the August 9 incident.

The grand jury found that Wilson had shot Brown in self-defense after an altercation. A total of 12 shots were fired.

In his first televised comments since the incident, Wilson told ABC News he had feared for his life during the confrontation, believing Brown was attempting to wrestle his gun away from him.

The officer said he was comfortable that he had acted correctly.

"I don't think it's haunting. It's always going to be something that happened," he said, adding that his conscience was clear because "I know I did my job right."

A visibly emotional McSpadden said on NBC's "Today" show that Wilson's remarks added "insult after injury" and were "so disrespectful."

His father, Michael Brown Sr., said on NBC he felt the officer's version of events was "crazy."

"For one, my son, he respected law enforcement," Brown said. "Two, who in their right mind would rush or charge at a police officer that has his gun drawn? It sounds crazy."

The August shooting of Brown sparked weeks of protest and a debate about race relations and military-style police tactics.

The town's community of 21,000 -- which is majority black -- has been on edge since the shooting, and residents complain of racism and heavy-handed tactics by the predominantly white police.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Chaos in Ferguson after no indictment charges

REDWOOD CITY, California - Buildings looted, set ablaze. Gunshots fired. A police car surrounded, vandalized. Media crews hit with smoke bombs as police and protesters faced-off in the streets in Ferguson, Missouri.

Authorities say the protest was the worst they have seen since the August shooting death of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown.

Just hours before the chaos, a St. Louis grand jury declined to indict police officer Darren Wilson.

In August, Wilson reportedly shot and killed Brown during a confrontation.

Officer Wilson could still face a justice department investigation for possibly violating Brown’s civil rights and he faces an internal investigation by the Ferguson police.

Brown’s family reportedly plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Wilson.

Lawyers for the family spoke about strenuously objecting to the prosecutor and the grand jury process.

“We went through as much of it as we could, and saw how completely unfair this process was,” said Benjamin Crump, Brown’s family attorney. “We object publicly and loudly as we can on behalf of Michael Brown Jr.’s family, that this process is broken.”

Meantime, the mayor of St. Louis said the chaos and violence in Ferguson do not represent the people of the community.

"I want to first and foremost condemn the terrible violence that occurred in Ferguson,” said Mayor Francis Slay. “It’s unacceptable. It’s wrong. The vast majority of people living in our region condemn it as well.”

President Barack Obama said there is a need to recognize the chaos there as not just an issue for Ferguson but an issue for America.

“We need to recognize that the situation in Ferguson speaks to broader challenges that we still face as a nation,” said Obama. “The fact is in too many parts of this country a deep distrust exists between law enforcement and communities of color.”

According to the Pew Research Institute, there are more than 4,000 Filipinos in the county of St. Louis, which Ferguson is part of.

But specifically in the city of Ferguson, where the violence has taken place, the US Census of 2010 cites that there are only 14 Filipinos there.






The Philippine consulate of Chicago has jurisdiction over Missouri.

"Wala naman akong nabalitaang untoward na pangyayari. They are all safe and we are certain they know where to go. As of this moment, we haven't had any report of any injuries or untoward incidents (involving Filipinos)," Consul General Generoso Calonge told Balitang America via Skype from Chicago.

Calonge said they likewise have no information yet of Filipinos who have joined the protests.

"Wala kaming kilalang kasama sa protesta. Ang naririnig lang namin ay nasa mga lugar na safe lang sila. We are not in touch with anybody who has joined the protest," he said.








Meanwhile, a Filipino-American who is part of Amnesty International USA was gassed twice in the middle of the protests.

Kalayaan Mendoza recounted hearing cries which he described as if "people had lost someone" when decision was announced.

"From there, the grief spread," he said.

Mendoza also recalled being gassed twice.

"We were inside a cafe with several dozen other protesters and community members, people having tea just taking a moment to rest. All of a sudden someone said everyone get inside, and I felt fumes of smoke outside the cafe and the cafe suddenly started filling up with teargas," he said.

The scenario was "frightening" he said.

"No one should ever have to deal with it especially in this country," he said.

He believes that it was the police who incited the violence.

"No one was doing anything to provoke the police and all of a sudden they started shooting tear gas canister at the building and towards the people," he said.

Read more from Balitang America

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Fil-Ams in American Canyon unite against racism

AMERICAN CANYON, California - Members of the Filipino-American Association of American Canyon gathered last night in a show of solidarity. They still do not know who sent the hate mail against Filipinos that circulated in this Northern California suburb this week.

They have been offended but these Filipinos said they will fight back. And for them, the best way to fight back is to show the rest of the community that they stand united against racism.

The letter claimed to have come from a state agency and called Filipinos in the area “filthy” and “unwanted”.

Marie Logan and her family received that hate mail. Marie, a Filipina married to a Caucasian said she was upset by comments made in the letter that slammed interracial marriages.

Her husband, Michael said, “It bothered me. One of the reasons we moved to American Canyon was because the population was so diverse and until that letter was received, we’ve never experienced anything like it.”

Marie’s daughter, Ashley said, “I thought they referred to us interracial kids like animals, like we were bred as our own race.”

Marie’s son, Josh added, “I thought it was mean that they would just send out a letter to people just to make them feel bad about their race.”

While she said she does not feel unsafe in her neighborhood after the hate mail was distributed, Maria said, “We just have to be vigilant. We just have to watch where we’re going and our surroundings right now.”

The American Canyon Police said that while the letter is hateful, its contents may not rise to the level of a hate crime because no specific threats were made. And while it is posed as coming from a state agency, the return label said, “Concerned Neighbors of American County”, so authorities said there may no criminal liability on the sender’s part.

Still, the Filipino community wants this to be resolved.

Anthony Quichon, president of The Filam Association of American Canyon said, “Even with those initial findings, we have to be proactive. We have to make sure the city government is on top of it, doing their own investigation. We are doing our own investigation as well.”

Mayor Leon Garcia it remains to be seen if this matter will be brought to state officials handling hate crime. He said, “The investigation has yet to be finished here. But I’m open to making sure the fullest extent of the law is applied in this case.”

For now, Mayor Garcia’s wife, a Filipina, sends this message to her kababayans: “You define who you are. You don’t let anyone define you.”

source: abs-cbnnews.com