Facebook and Instagram have, as of 2021, decided to stop advertisements targeted at people under 18 on all its platforms. Facebook & Instagram, as the top social media apps of this company, have decided to stop advertising to young people based on their interests and activity on these platforms.
Now that FB/IG stops custom audiences and interest targeting for users under 18 – what does this mean for the future of digital marketing?
Why did this change happen in the first place? How will businesses adapt to this change in Facebook targeting? For these answers and more – continue scrolling through this article!
Why Did This Change In Advertising Policy Happened?
In the summer of 2021, Facebook announced that the change in advertising is happening soon. In essence, this change means that the advertisers will no longer be able to pick targeted audiences under 18 by their age, gender, or location.
This change will apply to all of Facebook’s popular social media platforms – Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram. The reason why this social media corporation decided on this major change was thanks to many youth advocates.
Youth advocates have argued that advertisers were, in a way, taking advantage of young audiences. They argued that young people, those under 18, were not mentally able yet to make adequate decisions about being targeted with various ads.
Now, every Facebook custom audience will have to exclude young people. Facebook has stated that its goal is to create a safer personal experience for teenagers on the Internet.
So, How Is This Change Going To Be Implemented?
Since Facebook aims to make its platforms a safer place for young people, the change makes every user enter their exact date of birth to prevent advertisers from placing ads for young people.
For example, if a certain user refuses to share their birthday with Instagram, they will eventually be blocked from further time on the app until they add their birthday. The notification asking to add the date of birth will pop up several times before prohibiting the user from using the platform. Another change is that when there is a warning screen, the users will have to enter their date of birth for extra safety against detailed targeting.
Is This A Perfect System To Prevent Advertising To Tweens & Teens?
Well, to be completely honest, people can still enter a date of birth as they wish, saying that they are older, for example. However, Facebook Incorporated is currently developing an intelligent system that prevents people from entering a fake birthday.
Today, Facebook uses artificial intelligence to estimate how old a user is based on certain posts, like a ‘Happy Birthday’ post. If the user states that they are older and the AI discerns that their age is not valid, the platform will ask specific questions to verify their age.
Facebook has decided to make a safer space for tweens and teens today and make strict protective measures for advertisers and young users. The changes for Facebook lookalike audiences have already started, but we will see what other changes will be implemented later!
All that being said, how has your business adapted to this change in targeting custom audiences? For success in digital marketing, make sure to stay up to date and sign in to our newsletter at Boosterberg!
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