Meta launches feature to separate ads from harmful content – 03/30/2023 – Tech

Meta Platforms said on Thursday it is rolling out a long-promised system for advertisers to determine where their ads will appear, in response to demands from advertisers to distance their marketing from controversial posts on Facebook and Instagram.

The system offers advertisers three risk levels they can select for their ad placement, with the most conservative option excluding showing above or below posts with sensitive content such as depictions of weapons, sexual innuendos and political debates.

Meta will also provide a report via advertising measurement company Zefr showing Facebook advertisers the precise content that appeared near their ads and how it was categorized.

Samantha Stetson, Meta’s vice president for the Industry’s Customer and Commercial Relations Council, said she expects the company to introduce more detailed controls over time so that advertisers can specify their preferences around different social issues.

Stetson also said that early tests did not show a significant change in the performance or price of ads placed using more restrictive settings, adding that those involved in the tests were “pleasantly surprised”.

However, she cautioned that pricing dynamics could change, given the auction-based nature of Meta’s ad system and the reduction in inventory associated with any restrictions.

The controls will initially be available in the English and Spanish-speaking markets, with plans to expand to other regions — and the company’s Reels, Stories and Video ad formats — later this year.

ADVERTISEMENTS IN EUROPE

Meta Platforms is considering changes to its policies on serving politically oriented and personalized ads to users in Europe, according to media reports, to limit the impact of upcoming EU regulations on its business.

Meta executives are discussing a ban on online political ads in Europe over concerns that Facebook and Instagram will fail to comply with new EU regulations, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

Executives fear that the definition of political ads under the EU plans is so broad that it will be easier to opt out of all paid political campaigns on the company’s websites, the report said, citing two sources briefed on the discussions.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal has reported that Meta may allow European users of Facebook and Instagram to opt out of certain highly personalized ads and offer a version of its service that would direct them only to ads based on broad categories.

In December last year, the European Commission warned Meta that the company was violating EU antitrust laws by imposing unfair trading conditions on competing online classified ad services.

Meta did not respond to Reuters requests for comment on the two reports.