• Marketing Land
  • Sections
    • CMO
    • Social
    • SEM
    • SEO
    • Analytics
    • Display
    • Retail
    • MarTech
    • Resources
    • More
    • Home
  • Marketing Land
  • CMO
  • Social
  • SEM
  • SEO
  • Analytics
  • Display
  • Retail
  • MarTech
  • Resources
  • More
  • SUBSCRIBE

Marketing Land

Marketing Land
  • CMO
  • Social
  • SEM
  • SEO
  • Analytics
  • Display
  • Retail
  • MarTech
  • Resources
  • More
  • Home
  • Newsletters
  • Home
Social Media Marketing

Facebook continues to refine its app data & ad-targeting safety measures

The site announced a number of changes to its app APIs and introduced a new ad-targeting prompt that reminds advertisers about anti-discrimination policies.

Amy Gesenhues on April 25, 2018 at 3:21 pm
  • More

Facebook continues to shore up its user safety measures on a number of fronts. Yesterday, the site announced several changes to its API platform and released a new statement on all the ways it makes ad targeting more “safe and civil.”

According to a post on the Facebook Business blog, the site has been working with experts in privacy, data ethics and civil rights, along with charitable and advocacy organizations, to keep advertisers from misusing Facebook’s ad targeting capabilities, specifically the ability to discriminate by using exclusion targeting.

Last December, Facebook halted ad targeting that made it possible to exclude racial groups after ProPublica revealed the site’s ad-targeting options could be used to discriminate against ethnic groups.

Ad targeting updates

Now, when Facebook identifies an advertiser running a housing, employment or credit-related ad campaign, the advertiser must certify that they are complying with the site’s anti-discrimination policies and with anti-discrimination law. Facebook says that its systems reject thousands of ads per day for violating these rules and that it has also removed thousands of categories from its exclusion targeting options.

“We focused mainly on topics that relate to potentially sensitive personal attributes, such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and religion,” says Facebook.

It has also introduced a new prompt when an advertiser begins to build out an ad campaign that reminds them of the site’s anti-discrimination policies. Here’s a screen shot of what an advertiser will see when choosing the ad platform’s exclusion targeting option:

Facebook API changes

In addition to its statement regarding ad-targeting options, the site announced several changes that impact a number of its APIs, including ones for Facebook Analytics, Instagram Graph, Live and Pages. Many of the changes are scheduled to take place August 1, but some took effect immediately, like the following deprecation for the Instagram Graph:

Effective today, name and biography from comments on your own media will be removed; you will continue to receive username and comment text.

Starting August 1, the Live API — which lets an app publish Live videos on behalf of its users — will only be available to approved partners. Facebook says a new permission model that allows apps to publish videos to their user groups and timeline is coming. Also, on August 1, the Pages API will no longer have organic targeting based on gender and language for posts created via third-party apps, and age-gating will be available, but limited.

The Messenger Platform will also have new restrictions starting in August: the Messenger Expressions SDK — a feature that allowed apps to attach their app’s name and logo to media (images, videos, GIFs, sound clips) that users shared in conversations with friends — will be deprecated.

Facebook reiterated that data protections “for people, developers, and businesses using our platforms” was its top priority, a point it has beaten into the ground ever since news broke that Cambridge Analytica had exploited user data.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Marketing Land. Staff authors are listed here.



About The Author

Amy Gesenhues
Amy Gesenhues was a senior editor for Third Door Media, covering the latest news and updates for Marketing Land, Search Engine Land and MarTech Today. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs, SoftwareCEO, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy's articles.

Related Topics

Channel: Social Media MarketingFacebookFacebook: Apps & App CenterFacebook: Business IssuesFacebook: LegalFacebook: MarketingLegal: PrivacySocial Media Marketing

We're listening.

Have something to say about this article? Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or our LinkedIn Group.

Get the daily newsletter digital marketers rely on.
See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

Next Event: Sept. 14-15, 2021

Available On-Demand: March 2021

Available On-Demand: October 2020

×

Attend MarTech - Click Here


Learn More About Our MarTech Events

April 13, 2021: SMX Create

May 18-19, 2021: SMX London

June 8-9, 2021: SMX Paris

June 15-16, 2021: SMX Advanced

June 21-22, 2021: SMX Advanced Europe

August 17, 2021: SMX Convert

November 9-10, 2021: SMX Next

December 14, 2021: SMX Code

Available On-Demand: SMX

Available On-Demand: SMX Report

×


Learn More About Our SMX Events

White Papers

  • Nielsen Annual Marketing Report: Era of Adaptation
  • Global Social Media Advertising Trends Among Retailers in 2021
  • 2020 Hispanic Market Report
  • Delivering Audio Success: Industry Trends in Streaming Audio & Podcast Performance
  • Ten Tips for Acquisition Email Success
See More Whitepapers

Webinars

  • Drive Customer Engagement with the Power of Personalization
  • 7 Use Cases That Prove Why You Should Implement DAM
  • Accelerate Your SEO & Content Marketing Program with 4 Key Milestones
See More Webinars

Research Reports

  • Local Marketing Solutions for Multi-Location Businesses
  • Enterprise Digital Asset Management Platforms
  • Identity Resolution Platforms
  • Customer Data Platforms
  • B2B Marketing Automation Platforms
  • Call Analytics Platforms
See More Research

Attend SMX For Only $149

h
Receive daily marketing news & analysis.

Channels

  • MarTech
  • CMO
  • Social
  • SEM
  • SEO
  • Mobile
  • Analytics
  • Retail
  • Display

Our Events

  • MarTech
  • SMX

Resources

  • White Papers
  • Research
  • Webinars

About

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS
  • Youtube

© 2021 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.