Now Facebook will no longer let advertisers target people with the ads based on how interested the social network thinks they are in topics like politics, religion, or race.
Meta, the new name for parent company that oversees Instagram and Facebook, has announced that it will remove sensitive ads targeting options related to race, health, political affiliation, religion or s*xual orientation from 19th January 2022.
Meta, the company, which makes most of its $86 billion in annual sales from advertising, is blocking advertisers from using detailed ad targeting options that show ads based on the viewers engagement in sensitive areas.
On Tuesday, Graham Mudd, the company Meta’s vice president for marketing and ads, said: We have heard concerns from the experts that targeting options like these could be used in ways that lead to the negative experiences for the people in underrepresented groups.
The company released a statement that read: Starting 19th January 2022 we are going to remove Detailed Targeting options that relate to the topics people may perceive as sensitive, such as options referencing causes, organizations, or public figures that relate to race or ethnicity, health, political affiliation, religion, or sexual orientation.
Earlier this month, Meta earlier said that it removed over thirty million pieces of content in the month of September on Facebook and Instagram in India, as it faced intense security over user data privacy.
The changes take effect on 10th January across Meta’s apps, including Instagram, facebook and Messenger, and its audience network, which places ads on other smartphone apps.