Facebook parent Meta to remove sensitive ad categories

By BARBARA ORTUTAY
AP Technology Writer

Facebook’s parent company Meta says it will remove sensitive ad targeting options related to health, race or ethnicity, political affiliation, religion or sexual orientation beginning on Jan. 19. Advertisers can currently target people who, through their online activity the company tracks, have expressed interest in issues, public figures or organizations connected to these topics. For instance, someone who’s shown interest in “same-sex marriage” may be shown an ad supporting same-sex marriage. But the categories could also be misused, and Meta, formerly Facebook, has been under intense scrutiny from regulators and the public to clean is platform of abuse and misinformation.