Facebook is changing its policy to not allow targeted and personalized ads around sensitive topics like race, ethnicity, political beliefs, religion or sexual orientation. Specifically, the company, which was recently renamed Meta, said that the ability for advertisers to target around such topics will begin to be removed starting January 19, 2022. Facebook's changes to the settings appear to affect thousands of "tags."
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Facebook decided to end this service because the Detailed Targeting setting could easily be misused. According to Graham Mudd, vice president of product marketing, experts have reported that such a targeting setting can be used in ways that lead to negative experiences for minorities.
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The decision to end targeting, which is based on the themes of people, was announced Tuesday as the company appears to be starting a new chapter. The new chapter leaves behind a series of negative stories published by The Wall Street Journalthat suggested the company knew its services were harming users but prioritized profits over profits, as Facebook is an advertising behemoth that makes nearly $90 billion a year from its ability to effectively target users with its ads. The findings from the documents have reignited calls for scrutiny by lawmakers in the U.S. and the U.K.
Source: cnet.com
