Facebook Parent Company Meta to Block Some Political, Religious Ad Targeting

Meta, the parent company to Facebook, on Tuesday said that starting January 19, it will no longer allow advertisers to select terms for ad targeting related to sensitive identifying traits, such as race, ethnicity, political affiliation, religion, or sexual orientation.

{snip}

Details: The new ban will apply to all of the apps owned by Meta, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Facebook’s Audience Network.

• Examples of topics related to sexual orientation and religious practices that will be banned from being used to target ads include terms like “same-sex marriage,” “LGBT culture,” Catholic Church” and “Jewish holidays.”
• Any topic or term related to political beliefs, social issues, advocacy causes, as well as political organizations and figures, will also be banned.

{snip}

Be smart: Critics have been calling on Meta to do more to address ways that advertisers use micro-targeting to either manipulate or neglect certain populations for years.

• Earlier this year, it blocked ads from being targeted to users under the age of 18. In the past, it’s settled with civil rights groups over housing discrimination ads.
• In a blog post, Meta VP of product marketing for ads Graham Mudd acknowledged that the changes are being made to “address feedback from civil rights experts, policymakers and other stakeholders on the importance of preventing advertisers from abusing the targeting options we make available.”

{snip}