Meta to block Facebook, Instagram advertisers from using teen users’ data – Times of India

Social media giant Meta, which owns popular services Facebook and Instagram, has tightened data restrictions for advertisers. The company announced that it will now block the ad firms from accessing data of teenage users. This data is being used to target ads at teenage users. According to a Meta blog post, advertisers will no longer be able to see a user’s gender or the type of posts they have engaged in starting next month. This information helped advertisers with a way of targeting adverts to teenagers. Meta also revealed that with the implementation of these new restrictions, firms will be forced to show users ads only based on their age and location.
Meta to ensure the safety of teenage users
Facebook’s parent company has also mentioned that it will add new controls in March that will allow teenage social media users to block ads. Users will be able to choose to “see less” of certain types of adverts by visiting the settings section on both Facebook and Instagram.
Earlier, Meta added restrictions to block advertisers from targeting teenagers with adverts based on their interests and activities. The company decided to implement the new changes after doing extensive research on the issue, direct feedback from experts and global regulation.

Why is it important to stop advertisers from using teenage user data
Several online safety campaigners have also criticised social media platforms for not doing more to control the types of advertising shown to younger users. These campaigners have complained that inappropriate ads can also cause as much harm to teens as offensive or abusive posts.
Meta has been forced to contemplate its impact on teenage users in earlier instances as well. In 2020, Irish regulators launched a two-year investigation into the company’s Instagram platform. The regulators investigated whether Instagram gave away the contact information of its underage users when they switched to a business account.
The social media platform allowed teenage users to access business accounts and publicly post their phone numbers and email addresses. The company was also fined $492 million for violating the General Data Protection Regulation in September 2022.
Also Watch: