Advertisers are prohibited from using Meta's audience selection tools to target or exclude individuals based on protected characteristics, and from including discriminatory content in ad creative, with explicit reference to compliance with applicable anti-discrimination laws for housing, employment, and financial products.
This analysis describes what Meta Ads's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
This provision establishes policy-level anti-discrimination obligations that parallel legal requirements under the Fair Housing Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and Title VII, and restricts both targeting tool use and ad content on protected characteristic grounds.
Removal of this high-severity anti-discrimination provision eliminates explicit prohibitions on discriminatory targeting and advertising, representing a significant rollback of equity protections.
View full change record →The agreement prohibits advertisers from using audience selection tools to exclude or target individuals based on protected characteristics including race, ethnicity, religion, age, sex, disability, and family status, in addition to prohibiting discriminatory ad content.
Cross-platform context
See how other platforms handle Discriminatory Advertising Prohibition and similar clauses.
Compare across platforms →"Ads must not discriminate or encourage discrimination against people based on personal attributes such as race, ethnicity, colour, national origin, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, family status, disability, medical or genetic condition. Meta prohibits advertisers from using our ads products to discriminate against people. This means that advertisers may not: (1) use our audience selection tools to (a) wrongfully target specific groups of people for advertising (see advertising policy on Targeting); or (b) wrongfully exclude specific groups of people from seeing their ads; or (2) include discriminatory content in their ads.Excerpt from Meta Ads's Meta Advertising Policies
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This provision establishes policy-level anti-discrimination obligations that parallel legal requirements under the Fair Housing Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and Title VII, and restricts both targeting tool use and ad content on protected characteristic grounds.
The agreement prohibits advertisers from using audience selection tools to exclude or target individuals based on protected characteristics including race, ethnicity, religion, age, sex, disability, and family status, in addition to prohibiting discriminatory ad content.
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