A9
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2019
US charges Facebook with
high-tech housing discrimination
HUD Secretary Ben Car-
son said. “Using a com-
puter to limit a person’s
housing choices can be
just as discriminatory as
slamming a door in some-
one’s face.”
In a statement, Face-
book expressed surprise
over the charges, saying
it has been working with
HUD to address its con-
cerns and has taken steps
to prevent discrimina-
tion, including eliminat-
ing thousands of ad-tar-
geting options last year
that could be misused by
advertisers.
Just last week, Face-
book agreed to overhaul
its targeting system and
abandon some of the prac-
tices singled out by HUD
to prevent discrimination,
not just in housing listings
but in credit and employ-
ment ads as well. The
move was part of a settle-
ment with the American
Civil Liberties Union and
other activists.
“We’re disappointed by
today’s developments, but
we’ll continue working
with civil rights experts
By MAE ANDERSON
and BARBARA
ORTUTAY
Associated Press
AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
Trevor Oliver accepts the Medal of Honor from President Donald Trump, presented to his
father, Army Staff Sgt. Travis Atkins.
Iraq war hero’s family
accepts Medal of Honor
By DARLENE
SUPERVILLE
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The
son of an Army staff ser-
geant awarded a posthu-
mous Medal of Honor by
President Donald Trump on
Wednesday said he wants
his father to be remembered
as the best parent and best
soldier anyone could ever
ask for.
And
that’s
exactly
how Travis Atkins will be
remembered, Trump assured
Atkins’ son, Trevor Oliver.
“You can’t get better than
the Congressional Medal
of Honor. You just can’t,”
Trump explained.
The medal is the nation’s
highest military honor for
bravery against an enemy,
and Trump had just pre-
sented the eighth one of his
presidency to Trevor Atkins.
Atkins, 31, of Bozeman,
Montana, died in June 2007
while trying to subdue a sus-
pected Iraqi insurgent in a
town near Baghdad.
After realizing the man
was trying to detonate a sui-
cide vest, Atkins wrapped
his body around the man
and threw him to the ground,
away from three of his sol-
diers who were nearby.
Atkins, who was on his sec-
ond tour of duty in Iraq and
leading a 15-soldier squad
after he had become “bored”
with civilian life, was killed
instantly.
At a somber White
House ceremony, Trump
said Atkins had called his
son days before that fateful
June day to wish the boy a
happy 11th birthday. Neither
knew it would be the last
time they’d speak, Trump
said, adding that Oliver has
always known that his father
sacrifi ced himself for his
country.
Invited by Trump to
address the audience, which
included the three surviving
soldiers, Oliver said he takes
“a lot of pride” in the Medal
of Honor. He described the
moment as “surreal” and
something he could not put
into words.
Atkins had been awarded
the Distinguished Service
Cross, which was upgraded
to a Medal of Honor after a
Defense Department review.
After the ceremony, two
Republican members of
Montana’s
congressional
delegation — Sen. Steve
Daines and Rep. Greg Gian-
forte — announced that
they introduced legislation
Wednesday to put Atkins’
name on a Veterans Affairs
clinic in Bozeman.
Trump can choose to rec-
ognize individuals for a vari-
ety of contributions to soci-
ety, including the arts and
science. But the Medal of
Honor, which is instigated
by the military itself through
a nomination and lengthy
review process that does
not involve the president, is
the public award ceremony
Trump prefers to host.
The White House said
Trump is like most Ameri-
cans and feels honored any
time he hears about or meets
someone who is willing to
lay down their life for some-
one else’s. The president also
feels a sense of pride in hav-
ing the opportunity to recog-
nize such bravery by award-
ing the Medal of Honor.
CONSTRUCTION STARTING
NEW YORK — The
federal
government
charged Facebook with
high-tech housing dis-
crimination Thursday for
allegedly allowing land-
lords and real estate bro-
kers to systematically
exclude groups such as
non-Christians,
immi-
grants and minorities from
seeing ads for houses and
apartments.
The
civil
charges
fi led by the Department
of Housing and Urban
Development could cost
the social network mil-
lions of dollars in penal-
ties. But more than that,
they strike at the heart
of Facebook’s business
model — its vaunted abil-
ity to deliver ads with sur-
gical precision to certain
groups of people and not
others.
“Facebook is dis-
criminating against peo-
ple based upon who they
are and where they live,”
on these issues,” the com-
pany said.
The HUD charges were
seen as a possible pre-
lude to a wider regula-
tory crackdown on the
digital advertising indus-
try, which is dominated
by Facebook and Goo-
gle. And the case was yet
another blow to Facebook,
which has come under
siege from lawmakers,
regulators and activists
and is under investigation
in the U.S. and Europe
over its data and privacy
practices.
HUD spokesman Brian
Sullivan said the agency
has reached out to Goo-
gle and Twitter to “better
understand their advertis-
ing practices.” But he said
neither is currently under
investigation.
Twitter
says it doesn’t allow dis-
criminatory advertising,
while Google says its pol-
icies prohibit targeting ads
based on sensitive catego-
ries such as race, ethnicity
and religious beliefs.
Google, in particular,
has ad-targeting options
similar to Facebook’s.
The U.S. Navy
INVITES YOU TO PARTICIPATE
in the Northwest Training and Testing
Supplemental EIS/OEIS Public Involvement Process
The U.S. Navy has prepared a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS/OEIS) to reassess the potential environmental impacts associated
with conducting proposed ongoing and future training and testing activities within the
Northwest Training and Testing (NWTT) Study Area beyond 2020.
Public Involvement
Open House Public Meetings: 5 to 8 p.m.
The Navy welcomes substantive comments on the Draft
Supplemental EIS/OEIS. Comments may be submitted at
the public meetings, online at www.NWTTEIS.com,
or by mail to:
Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest
Attention: NWTT Supplemental EIS/OEIS Project Manager
3730 N. Charles Porter Ave., Building 385
Oak Harbor, WA 98278-3500
Comments must be postmarked or received online by
May 28, 2019, for consideration in the Final
Supplemental EIS/OEIS.
Arrive and submit comments anytime during the
open house. No presentation or formal oral
comment session will be conducted.
Monday, April 29, 2019
Astoria High School Student Commons
1001 W. Marine Drive
Astoria, Ore.
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Newport Performing Arts Center Lobby
777 W. Olive St.
Newport, Ore.
Individuals requiring reasonable accommodations, please
contact Julianne Stanford, Public Affairs Officer, at
360-396-1630 or julianne.stanford@navy.mil.
The draft supplement is available online at www.NWTTEIS.com or at the following public libraries in Oregon:
Astoria Public Library; Driftwood Public Library; Newport Public Library; Oregon State University, Guin Library
Hatfield Marine Science Center; and Tillamook Main Library. Additional public meetings will be held in
Washington, Northern California, and southeastern Alaska.
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