Facebook to Reverse Ban on Crypto Ads 🚨 This article is 6 years old...
Facebook to Reverse Ban on Crypto Ads
2 min read
Updated: Apr. 9, 2020 at 6:43 pm UTC
Photo by Devin Avery on Unsplash
Earlier this year, Facebook along with other major social media sites banned all cryptocurrency-related ads on their platforms. Announced on June 26, 2018, Facebook is updating its advertising policy and allowing the promotion of select cryptocurrency products and services.
Facebook Starts to Recognize Crypto Legitimization
In January 2017, Facebook led a series of cryptocurrency ad bans that prevented the marketing of ICOs and cryptocurrency products and businesses on Google, Twitter, and Snapchat.
In their original ban of cryptocurrency advertisements, Facebook stated in a blog post plans to revise their policies as conditions changed:
“This policy is intentionally broad while we work to better detect deceptive and misleading advertising practices… We will revisit this policy and how we enforce it as our signals improve.”
With institutional interest and developing regulation on the rise, the social media mogul has recognized cryptocurrency legitimization and is reversing its international ban on crypto ads for pre-approved advertisers.
In the blog post announcing Facebook’s updated policies, it states:
“In the last few months, we’ve looked at the best way to refine this policy — to allow some ads while also working to ensure that they’re safe. So starting June 26, we’ll be updating our policy to allow ads that promote cryptocurrency and related content from pre-approved advertisers.”
Through a new screening process, Facebook will assess advertisers’ eligibility based on public company information, relevant licenses, and exchange listings to prevent future scams and deceptive marketing on the platform.
Although cryptocurrency-related products and services will be allowed on Facebook, the promotion of ICOs and binary options is still prohibited.
In the blog post released June 26, Product Management Director Rob Leathern states:
“Given these restrictions, not everyone who wants to advertise will be able to do so. But we’ll listen to feedback, look at how well this policy works and continue to study this technology so that, if necessary, we can revise it over time.”
Facebook’s Blockchain Interest
In early May, Facebook launched an experimental blockchain initiative led by former head of Facebook Messenger and Coinbase board member, David Marcus.
The blockchain group gathered a small team of lead engineers from Instagram and other Facebook divisions to find decentralized solutions to data privacy issues.
With this industry-forward update on advertising policy, it remains unknown whether other sites, such as Twitter and Google, will follow suit and reverse their bans on crypto ads.
