According to Meta, a company that was previously known as Facebook, the company would be deleting sensitive ad-targeting options, such as adverts based on interactions with information about an individual’s race, health, religious practises, political views, or sexual orientation.
A number of companies, including the recently renamed Meta, which derives the majority of its revenue from digital advertising, have come under scrutiny in recent years for their ad-targeting skills and compliance with government standards. The new date would be January 19, 2022, and would be effective immediately.
Several targeted categories, such as “Lung Cancer Awareness,” “World Diabetes Day,” “LGBT culture,” Jewish holidays, and political and social convictions, were highlighted in a blog post by Meta. These categories included “Lung Cancer Awareness,” “World Diabetes Day,” and “LGBT culture.”
As Graham Mudd, the company’s vice president of product marketing for advertisements, said in the blog post, “we’ve received concerns from experts that targeting choices like this might be exploited in ways that result in unpleasant experiences for people from underrepresented groups.”
In recent years, the corporation has come under fire for its micro-targeting capabilities, with charges of advertising discriminating against or targeting vulnerable groups levelled against them. Earlier this year, as part of a settlement over housing discrimination problems, it agreed to make modifications to its advertising platform.
According to Mudd’s blog post, “the decision to remove these Detailed Targeting options was not an easy one, and we recognise that this change may have a negative impact on some businesses and organisations.” He also stated that some advertising partners were concerned that they would be unable to use these ads to promote positive social change.
The advertising capabilities of Meta are utilised by a diverse range of advertisers, including political campaigns, social issue organisations, and enterprises. On Meta’s platforms, advertisers will be able to target audiences based on their geographic location, leverage their own customer lists, reach custom audiences who have interacted with their content, and deliver advertising to those who share characteristics with those users, among other things.
The development is not expected to have a financial impact on the firm. As reported by Reuters, Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg predicted in 2019 that political advertisements will account for less than 0.5 percent of the company’s 2020 income. Facebook now allows users to choose to view less advertisements connected to issues like as politics and alcohol. The company also said that it will give individuals more choice over the advertisements they see early next year, including advertisements for gambling and weight reduction.
