Meta is belly dancing. Facebook’s parent company has announced that it will soon limit advertising targeting possibilities aimed at teenagers on Facebook and Instagram.
Less data for advertisers
From February 2023, advertising networks will no longer be able to target the youngest users on questions of gender identity or by taking inspiration from the Instagram accounts and Facebook pages to which this audience is subscribed. The decision is in line with another taken in 2021, which sought to limit the harmful effects of social networks on the mental health of young people.
“We recognize that teenagers are not necessarily as well equipped as adults to make decisions about the use of their online data for advertising purposes. […] That’s why we’re further restricting the options advertisers have to reach teens, and the information we use to show them ads.”, explains the company. As motivation, the firm cites global regulations and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Only the age and location of young people will soon be used by Facebook and Instagram to target ads. In addition to the teen privacy page, Meta will make more tools available for minors to more finely tune their advertising experiences by choosing their favorite or opt-out topics.
This new policy comes a few months after the European Union imposed a record fine on Instagram for failing to secure the data of minors, which the GDPR protects particularly strictly. Meta therefore seeks to get into the nails to avoid a new fine, without cutting off the tap of advertising aimed at young people.