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The independent watchdog Defenseur des Droits (Defender of Rights) in an October 10 ruling said Meta's system treats Facebook users differently because of their gender, making it a form of indirect discrimination based on sex. Sign up here. It recommended Meta Ireland and Facebook France take measures to ensure that job ads are non-discriminatory, giving the U.S. tech giant three months to inform the French body of the measures. The case underscores French authorities' tough line against Big Tech whether on antitrust or privacy grounds. "We disagree with this decision and are assessing our options," a Meta spokesperson said. Campaign group Global Witness together with French women's rights organisations Foundation for Women (Fondation des Femmes) and Women Engineers (Femmes Ingénieures), which had complained to the rights body, welcomed the ruling. "This appears to be the first time a European regulator has decided that a social media platform's algorithm discriminates by gender, presenting a major step forward in holding these platforms accountable to existing law," they said in a joint statement. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Sharon Singleton Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab An agenda-setting and market-moving journalist, Foo Yun Chee is a 21-year veteran at Reuters. Her stories on high profile mergers have pushed up the European telecoms index, lifted companies' shares and helped investors decide on their next move. Her knowledge and experience of European antitrust laws and developments helped her break stories on Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta and Apple, numerous market-moving mergers and antitrust investigations. She has previously reported on Greek politics and companies, when Greece's entry into the eurozone meant it punched above its weight on the international stage, as well as on Dutch corporate giants and the quirks of Dutch society and culture that never fail to charm readers.
