Facebook restricts abusive ad targeting, will allow users to avoid weight loss and gambling ads – AdAge.com

What it means for Facebook advertisers and users

On one hand these are clearly hot button subjects and Facebook wants to steer clear of the perception that they are pouring fuel on the fire in the court of public opinion, said Matt Barash, an ad tech veteran and advisor. But the vast majority of targeting in these areas is done under the best of intentions and [this] will harm those who need the reach and efficiency of Facebook's ad machine most.

The newly-named Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has been dealing with negative sentiment around how its ad platform can sometimes make users feel worse about their self-esteem, especially younger teenage users. There have been anecdotes about people dealing with stressful situations made more stressful by intrusive ads that remind them of sore subjects.Facebook has developed policies in the past that allow parents to avoid parenting ads, or pet owners to avoid ads about pets, especially if a person recently lost a beloved pet.

On Tuesday, Facebook announcedit will include the option to avoid ads related to gambling and weight loss, among others.

Facebook noted that users' interests were never collected for ad targeting based on peoples personal attributes and characteristics, but advertisers could often infer the attributes based on the type of accounts users followed and content they preferred. Facebook has been able to create groups of consumers with shared affinities that often relate to sensitive subjects like their health status and race.

In the past, Facebooks ad targeting platform wascriticized for enabling abusive advertisers to tailor discriminatory ad campaigns related to topics like finance, employment and housing. Unscrupulous advertisers could set targeting parameters that avoid showing ads to protected groups, such as differently abled people or people of certain genders and ethnicities.

For years, Facebook has been working with civil rights groups and governmental organizations to ensure that digital advertising adheres to the same standards as traditional advertising, where discrimination has long been outlawed and regulated. Weve heard concerns from experts that targeting options like these could be used in ways that lead to negative experiences for people in underrepresented groups, Mudd said in the announcement. We routinely review, update and remove targeting options to simplify our ads system, provide more value for advertisers and people, and reduce the potential for abuse.

On the other side, there are charitable organizations, non-governmental groups and nonprofits that rely on Facebook targeting to recruit members and drive donations.

The decision to remove these Detailed Targeting options was not easy and we know this change may negatively impact some businesses and organizations, Mudd said.

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Facebook restricts abusive ad targeting, will allow users to avoid weight loss and gambling ads - AdAge.com