Townsville Bulletin

Facebook’s call hinders racism, not advertisin­g

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IN MARCH, Facebook announced it was going to take serious action against businesses using their ad tools in “unfair manners”.

The social media giant aimed to tackle this by removing specific targeting options.

Facebook just issued a reminder for advertiser­s that these targeting options will now be restricted.

“We’re committed to protecting people from discrimina­tion on Facebook and as part of this commitment, we announced changes earlier this year to all ads that offer housing, employment and credit opportunit­ies,” Facebook explained.

“Advertiser­s, developers and partners must specify whether or not their ads fall under either the category of housing, employment or credit. They can do so by selecting a special ad category, and once a category is selected in Ads Manager or via the Marketing API, a limited set of targeting options will then be available.”

According to an investigat­ion by Propublica in 2016, advertiser­s were able to hide specific house-related ads from people of particular ethnicitie­s, such as Hispanic or African Americans.

What does this mean for advertiser­s? You will still be able to execute effective campaigns on Facebook. Remember, the platform makes money if advertiser­s make money.

These positive steps taken by the social network heavyweigh­t are positive in eradicatin­g ethnic discrimina­tion, they are not steps that will hinder advertisin­g on the platform.

>> Looking for more leading advice from the digital marketing experts at News Xtend? Find out more at newsxtend.com.au or call your local digital marketing expert, Jarrod Boyd, on 4722 4473

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Jarrod Boyd

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