Jul 28, 2021 10:49:00

Facebook and Instagram stop 'interest-based ads' to avoid distribution of alcohol and tobacco ads to children

Facebook announced on July 27, 2021 that it will stop serving 'interest-based advertising' to users under the age of 18. For some time, Facebook has pointed out the problem that children's users are seeing ads for alcohol and tobacco.

Giving Young People a Safer, More Private Experience on Instagram --About Facebook

https://about.fb.com/news/2021/07/instagram-safe-and-private-for-young-people/

Facebook to limit ads children see after revelations Australian alcohol companies can reach teens | Facebook | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jul/28/facebook-limit-ads-children-revelations-australian-alcohol-companies-teens

Facebook announced on July 27 that its video sharing service, Instagram, will strengthen its protection against teenage users. Specifically, in addition to setting the initial setting of user accounts under 16 years old to private accounts, it will be difficult to find accounts of younger users from adult users who have been blocked or reported by young people. These changes have already been implemented in Japan, the United States, Australia, France and the United Kingdom, and will be expanded to other regions in the near future.

Facebook has also set out a policy to limit the means by which advertisers can reach users under the age of 18 (or older in some regions). This prevents advertisers from serving ads based on their interests or activity on other apps and websites to their child users. However, targeting options based on age, gender, and location will continue to be available. This change will be applied to Instagram, Facebook and Messenger within a few weeks of the announcement.

Prior to this change, Facebook has provided users with a

way to opt out of ads based on interests and more. However, it was decided to take a more cautious stance after receiving an opinion from a youth support group that 'young people may not have sufficient ability to make decisions to accept or reject advertisements.' Facebook explained.

About this time of Facebook's announcement, large letter · The Guardian of Britain, that 'Facebook's announcement,' the leading alcoholic beverage manufacturers of Australia is delivering alcohol advertising to children in social media such as Instagram ' paper Was announced on the same day as the announcement. '

According to a paper published in the Australian journal Public Health Research and Practice, 28% of Instagram accounts and Facebook accounts were examined by examining 195 alcohol brand accounts operated by the top nine Australian alcohol beverage manufacturers. It turned out that 5% of the people did not have an age limit.

In addition, the Reset Australia in April 2021 is a lobby group of Australia, and 'With Facebook, advertisers can be a child with an interest in alcohol and tobacco, excessive weight loss to target ads' announcement And I was asking Facebook to rectify it.

In its announcement, Facebook said, 'We want young people to enjoy Instagram, but on the other hand, we never compromise on the privacy and safety of young people. We will continue to do so. While listening to the opinions of parents, lawmakers, and other experts, we will create Instagram that works for young people and is trusted by parents. '