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Discrimination in Online Ad Delivery: Google ads, black names and white names, racial discrimination, and click advertising

Published: 01 March 2013 Publication History

Abstract

Do online ads suggestive of arrest records appear more often with searches of black-sounding names than white-sounding names? What is a black-sounding name or white-sounding name, anyway? How many more times would an ad have to appear adversely affecting one racial group for it to be considered discrimination? Is online activity so ubiquitous that computer scientists have to think about societal consequences such as structural racism in technology design? If so, how is this technology to be built? Let’s take a scientific dive into online ad delivery to find answers.

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        cover image Queue
        Queue  Volume 11, Issue 3
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        March 2013
        38 pages
        ISSN:1542-7730
        EISSN:1542-7749
        DOI:10.1145/2460276
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        Published: 01 March 2013
        Published in QUEUE Volume 11, Issue 3

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