The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has accused Facebook of housing discrimination. HUD’s  administrative complain t, filed last week, alleges that the social media company allowed landlords to use its advertising tools to discriminate  against tenants based on their race, gender, national origin or disability. The allegations, if proven, would be violations of the Fair Housing Act, a federal law that prohibits landlords and real estate sellers from discriminating against anyone who is a member of a “protected class”.

To be clear, the complaint doesn’t charge Facebook with discrimination. Rather, it claims that the company “unlawfully discriminates by enabling advertisers to restrict which Facebook users receive housing-related ads” based their status as a member of a protected class” (emphasis mine).

The Complaint is significant because of its underlying premise: that Facebook should be held legally responsible for discrimination committed by businesses and people who advertise on Facebook (in this case, landlords). Facebook typically tries to avoid responsibility for content by shifting blame to its users and advertisers. But  according to Anna María Farías , HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, “[w]hen Facebook uses the vast amount of personal data it collects to help advertisers to discriminate, it’s the same as slamming the door in someone’s face.”

It should come as no surprise that Facebook collects massive amounts of data on people who have Facebook accounts. The company combines that data with data purchased from other sources to create profiles of its users.

Businesses who want to advertise on Facebook can use its advertising tools to choose the audience who will see their ads. There’s nothing illegal about targeting ads for certain products and services to certain groups of people. But landlords and employers can use the same tools to make sure their ads are not shown to certain audiences based on their gender, age, nationality, ethnicity and other factors. In other words, they can use Facebook’s ad tools to discriminate.

HUD’s press release describes the ways Facebook can be used to discriminate against protected classes by allowing advertisers to:

If you believe you were turned down for an apartment based on your age, gender, race or disability – or discriminated against in any way – please contact me. You may have recourse.

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