Meta to limit data advertisers use for targeting teens with ads

In addition to the recent efforts to make its platforms a safer space for teens, Meta is now limiting the information accessed by advertisers for targeted ads.

(Image credits: Dima Solomin/Unsplash)

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Meta is updating the advertisement policy on Facebook and Instagram, restricting the amount of data advertisers can use to target teens. This is being done together with the addition of new controls that’ll allow teens to manage the kind of ads they’ll see across the platforms.

The Mark Zuckerberg-owned company says it recognises “that teens aren’t necessarily as equipped as adults to make decisions about how their online data is used for advertising, particularly when it comes to showing them products available to purchase.”

Acting on this sentiment, Meta is now restricting the options advertisers have to reach teens and the information the company itself uses to show ads to teens. Age and location will be the only information about a teen that advertisers will be able to use to show them ads, beginning in February. Gender will no longer be an option for advertisers.

Meta seems to imply that these two bits of information are the bare minimum the company needs to serve targeted ads. While age ensures that ads teens see are age-appropriate, location is needed to serve ads about products and services that are available where the teen lives.

On top of that, teens’ engagement on Meta’s apps will no longer affect the kind of ads they see.

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Meanwhile, on the front end, teens are being given more ways to manage the types of ads they see on Facebook and Instagram with Ad Topic Controls. They’ll soon be able to hide any or all ads from a specific advertiser. Topics that Meta will already restrict as part of its updated policies will be defaulted to See Less.

Ad preferences can be accessed from Settings & privacy > Settings > Ads (Image credits: Meta)

Lastly, a new privacy page with more information for teens about the tools and privacy settings they can use across Meta products will help them better manage their privacy.

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“These changes reflect research, direct feedback from parents and child developmental experts, UN children’s rights principles and global regulation,” reads Meta’s press release.

Lately, Meta has been focussing on upgrading its safety and privacy norms for minors and teens on its platform.. In November, Meta announced that it’ll automatically set more private settings for teens and minors joining Facebook or Instagram.