Updated Facebook Advertisng Policies and Tools – Improving Enforcemnet & Promoting Diversity

Last fall, Facebook has committed to updating its ad targeting practices to provide better education to advertisers regarding the prohibition against discrimination. For the last few years, advertisers have concerns over the discriminatory advertising that depriving people of opportunities, especially in the areas of housing, credit and employment.

That’s why Facebook has taken steps by updating its advertising policies, developing stronger enforcement rules and advertiser education.

Updated Advertising Policies

Facebook has strengthened its stance with clearly defined prohibitions that advertisers may not discriminate on the basis of personal attributes like race, color, creed, ethnicity, age, sex, national origin, gender identity, family status, physical disability, family status, medical or genetic condition.

 Advertiser Education

By updating a new section about discriminatory practices, Facebook has made the prohibition against discrimination stronger.  The new section regarding advertising policies provides further information regarding anti-discriminatory policy.

The section is also expanded to the civil right groups and government agencies who specialize in combating discrimination such as  US Department of Housing and Urban Development, American Civil Liberties union, US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Department of Justice- Civil right Division, Leadership Conferences on Civil and Human rights and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Strong Enforcement Tools

The Company has announced, now they’re using machine-based-learning technology that will help to identify problematic ads using multicultural affinity targeting and violating its policies. They’ve made these major changes:

• Rejecting ads that use Multicultural Affinity targeting and offer housing, employment or credit opportunities;

 Such ads that offer housing, employment or credit opportunity or using multicultural advertising segments can’t be approved or run by Facebook.

• Self Certification Requirment

Whenever the advertiser tries to create an ad  within two or more categories, targeting other audience segments, actually violating the policy. Then Facebook will display information about its anti-discriminatory policy and advertisers will be asked to certify that he understand the updated policy of Facebook and he’ll abide by that policy.

For the updated advertising policies, Facebook gave thanks to the following:

New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman; the American Civil Liberties Union; the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; the Center for Democracy & Technology; Rep. David N. Cicilline, Co-Chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus; the National Fair Housing Alliance; Members of the Congressional Black Caucus including Chairman Cedric Richmond, Robin Kelly; the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Chairwoman Michelle Lujan Grisham; the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; Rep. G.K. Butterfield, Rep. Yvette D. Clarke, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, II, and Rep. the Brookings Institution; and Upturn.

Facebook is still working hard to find new policies and tools against discrimination. In this regard, the Company is collaborating with several organizations and government agencies to formulate better anti-discriminatory policies and stronger enforcement tools.