Facebook is set to remove marketing options that allow advertisers to target certain “sensitive” subjects, including race, religion and politics, citing concerns that its ad system could be abused to harm vulnerable people.
On Tuesday, in a statement announcing the “difficult” decision, the company’s vice president for marketing and ads, Graham Mudd, stated that while Facebook seeks to enable “non-profits” and “social causes” to reach as many people as possible, he suggested advertisers could be “abusing the targeting options we make available,” prompting the need for change.
Mudd added, “Starting January 19, 2022 we will remove Detailed Targeting options that relate to topics people may perceive as sensitive. Those include causes, organisations or public figures that relate to health, race or ethnicity, political affiliation, religion or sexual orientation.”
