SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook-parent Meta has said it will stop letting ads be targeted at users based on “sensitive” topics such as race, religion, sexuality or political party, citing concerns about abuse.
The company’s deep knowledge about its users’ interests is prized by advertisers looking to reach a certain audience — and is an engine of its multi-billion dollar ad business — but could be used to influence or exclude groups.
“We want 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,” Meta vice president of ad product marketing Graham Mudd wrote.
He noted the change was not based on people’s actual characteristics but on things like how users interacted with content on the company’s platform.
Starting on January 19, apps in the Meta family will no longer offer advertisers the option to target people based on their interest in causes, organizations or public figures related to health, race, ethnicity, political affiliation, or sexual orientation.
Examples include things like lung cancer awareness, same-sex marriage, the Catholic Church, Jewish holidays and political beliefs.
High-profile misfires of ad targeting on Facebook include promotions of military gear served to far-right militia groups before the January 6 storming of the US Capitol by supporters of then president Donald Trump.
US housing officials also sued Facebook in 2019 over allegations landlords and brokers were allowed to improperly restrict housing ads “to exclude people of color, families with children, women, people with disabilities”.
