Starting from February, advertisers will lose the ability to view the gender and post engagement preferences of young users
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has announced plans to enhance restrictions on data available to firms for targeting ads at teenage users. Starting from February, advertisers will no longer have access to a user’s gender or the type of posts they have engaged with for ad targeting purposes. Meta stated that under the tightened restrictions, only a user’s age and location will be utilized for displaying advertisements.
Additionally, the social media company confirmed that in March, new controls would be implemented, allowing teenagers to access the settings in both apps and opt to “see less” of specific types of advertisements.
Numerous advocates for online safety argue that social media platforms should take stronger measures to regulate the advertisements displayed to younger users, asserting that inappropriate ads can be just as harmful as offensive or abusive content shared by other users.
In the past, Meta has implemented restrictions preventing advertisers from targeting teenagers with ads based on their interests and activities. The company stated that the latest updates are a result of research on the matter, direct input from experts, and compliance with global regulations.
In a blog post, Meta stated, “As part of our ongoing efforts to ensure age-appropriate experiences for teenagers on our apps, we are implementing additional modifications to their ad encounters. We acknowledge that teenagers may not possess the same level of preparedness as adults in making decisions regarding the utilization of their online data for advertising purposes, especially when it involves showcasing products available for purchase.
Consequently, we are tightening the limitations on advertisers’ ability to target teenagers, as well as the data we utilize to display ads to this demographic.”
This is not the initial instance where Meta has had to address its impact on teenage users. Irish regulators conducted a two-year investigation into whether Instagram exposed the contact details of underage users by enabling them to publicly share their phone numbers and email addresses when transitioning to a business account in 2020. In September 2022, Meta was fined €405m ($492m) for breaching the General Data Protection Regulation.
In September 2021, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen disclosed to the Wall Street Journal that the company possessed knowledge and had conducted research indicating that its photo-sharing platform, Instagram, had a detrimental effect on the mental well-being of teenage girls.
In response to the article, Karina Newton, the Head of Public Policy at Instagram, stated in a blog post that the company acknowledges the significance of the findings but maintains the stance that social media is neither inherently positive nor negative for individuals.
Newton emphasized that social media can be perceived as helpful on one occasion and problematic on another, with the key factor being how people utilize it and their mental state during usage.
