Facebook Ads Policies: Updates for 2022

Facebook (Meta) is always updating its ad policies in response to changes in user privacy rights. Let’s find out more about the recently updated Facebook Ads rules!

To a certain extent, advertisers might have already prepared themselves for ongoing updates to the advertising policies on Facebook and other M platforms like Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. Last year, for example, iOS14 restricted the effectiveness of Facebook ads for some, plus there were rules and regulations around restricted advertising keywords for food and beauty product advertisements. 

Starting in early 2022, there were some ad policy updates for Covid-19-related advertisements and the removal of some detailed targeting options following Meta’s privacy policy changes. This article will give you the most recent information to help you re-strategise and optimise your advertising plan.

Facebook Ad Rules During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Previously, Facebook announced updates to its advertising policies related to Covid-19, protective equipment, and vaccines. Here are some restrictions on advertising certain products and services as of January 19, 2022:

Masks, Hand-Sanitiser, and Disinfectant Wipes

• Medical & non-medical masks, hand-sanitiser, and disinfectant wipes ads are temporarily restricted.
• Advertisers allowed to advertise these products must have at least 4 months of advertising history and no bans due to violations of Facebook policies. 
• Claims of absolute Covid-19 prevention are prohibited, e.g., “Simply wipe to kill Coronavirus completely”.

Covid-19 Self-test Kits

• Only ads that promote information or access to Covid-19 testing sites are allowed.
• Advertising Covid-19 self-test kits as gifts or freebies are not permitted.
• An example of a prohibited ad statement: “Buy our health check-up package today and get a FREE Covid-19 self-test kit!”.

Covid-19 Vaccines

• Promoting sales of Covid-19 vaccines or any services that involve paying for expedited access to the vaccines is prohibited, as well as tactics to urge people to buy vaccines within a certain time.

For example: “Order your vaccine NOW before the new wave of Covid-19 breaks!”.

Updates to Facebook Ad Policies

As mentioned earlier, the issue of privacy has become a priority in all sectors, social media and tech giants included. On January 19, 2022, Meta announced updates to its Facebook ad policies regarding the removal of some detailed targeting options. The details are as follows:

The Removal of Certain Detailed Targeting Options

Originally, detailed targeting enabled advertisers to determine their target audience. Now, the recent Facebook ad policies are removing some options related to preferences and information that can be perceived as sensitive. There are 4 categories that will be removed:

• Health causes – e.g. interest in reading articles on chronic disease treatment

• Sexual orientation – e.g. preferences or interests

• Personal beliefs – e.g. religion, religious groups and practices, or ethnicity

• Political views – e.g. serving ads specifically to people or organisations advocating or taking sides on political issues.

Restrictions on Targeting Under 20s

In addition to Facebook’s removal of certain detailed targeting options, now advertisers who want to target those under 20 can only target ads based on age, gender, and location. You won’t be able to use other detailed targeting categories like language, connection or engagement history with the brands, etc. You will need to determine your strategy, use suitable media for your ads, and try to read your target customers’ minds. Then, gradually, you can measure your campaign effectiveness and tweak it for greater accuracy of your future ad targeting.

What Will Happen to Campaigns Created Before the Updates?

Any ad sets that were created before January 19, 2022, using any of the affected detailed targeting options, should have been able to run until March 17, 2022. You can still edit some information, such as the campaign name and budget, without affecting your audience targeting.

Policy change is one of the big challenges advertisers have to deal with. Ongoing updates to Facebook ad policies are meant to protect user privacy. If you need help, look for an agency to maximize your campaign effectiveness and stay up-to-date with policies.