Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called on the state Department of Financial Services to investigate reports that state-regulated advertisers are using Facebook Inc.’s advertising platform to discriminate against protected classes.

“The allegations against Facebook advertisers are extremely troubling and fly in the face of everything that New York stands for,” Cuomo said. “I am calling on the Department of Financial Services to investigate these claims and help ensure that New Yorkers seeking housing for themselves and their families are not discriminated against in any way. We will take aggressive action and ensure that those who are behind these reprehensible alleged practices are held fully accountable.”

According to reports, Facebook’s advertising platform allows advertisers to modify or block ads using ZIP code information to exclude consumers based on race, color, national origin, religion, familial status, sex and disability, among other classifications.

Cuomo said in a news release that Facebook touts its advertising platform as a means for housing and housing-related advertisers to reach desired consumers.

In addition to the specific tools made available to advertisers, Facebook also allegedly uses machine learning and predictive analytics to categorize users to project each user’s likely response to a given ad, which may recreate groupings defined by their protected class.