December 12, 2017

Removed Exclusion Targeting of Multicultural Affinity Segments for Ads

We're actively working to strengthen our review process and continue to enforce our ad policies against discriminatory behavior on Facebook. On December 1, 2017, we removed the ability to exclude multicultural affinity segments during ads creation. We've since expanded this to no longer allow advertisers to exclude segments related to other potentially sensitive areas.

In parallel, we're working to help advertisers understand why we're making these changes, and how they can be better informed about their responsibility as an advertiser. These updates are in the process of being built and are slated to launch this year.

We understand that marketers often use exclusion targeting to create refined audiences within a larger targeting audience, and that exclusion targeting can help businesses reach just the right audience; for example, not showing ads to an audience that has already purchased a product or removing specific locations where a business does not operate. Those types of exclusion targeting will still be available for ad creation.