Errr, what?

Via The Hill:

Companies that target certain people based on their online behavior could be practicing a form of discrimination, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) warned on Monday.

Some businesses look at massive amounts of information about what people do on the Internet to target ads to one group over another, which the ACLU told the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) “has the potential to significantly reinforce existing economic disparities between racial groups.”

“Because decisions about which advertisements to display are in some cases based on data about race or factors closely linked to race, we are in danger of segregating the consumer experience on the Web,” ACLU officials told FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez in a formal filing.

Both the FTC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should investigate whether or not companies are violating the rules by using new forms of discrimination, the civil liberties group said.