Last week, Facebook announced that it has created a separate system for setting up housing, employment, and credit-related advertising campaigns on its Facebook Ads service in an effort to combat discriminatory audience targeting. This is the latest of multiple changes made to the Facebook Ads platform since a legal settlement in March.
As Facebook explained in a post at the end of August, “If you are in or want to reach people in the US with ads that offer housing, employment or credit opportunities, you must now select the corresponding Special Ad Category in Ads Manager or your ad will not be able to run. These ads will not allow targeting by age, gender, ZIP code, multicultural affinity, or any detailed options describing or appearing to relate to protected characteristics.”
Under the new system, ads that fall under the Special Ad Category won't be able to use Look-a-Like audiences. Instead, advertisers will create a Special Ad Audience, which is based on similarities in online behavior without considering things like age, gender, or ZIP code. Facebook created the protocols for this system in collaboration with the National Fair Housing Alliance, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Communication Workers of America.
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