Hemp merchants are being hurt by Facebook and Instagram’s tough advertising policies.
While hemp is only a cannabis derivative and can’t actually get you high, American small-business entrepreneurs are freaking out about ‘unfair’ ad bans.
As reported on by The New York Post, business owner Mike Goose, who runs a company that makes tortilla chips out of hemp seeds (pictured above) has wigged out over the fact his ads have been rejected by Facebook since 2019.
He claims that his ads have been disallowed on the basis that they violate Facebook’s ban on “illegal products or services.”
Though funnily enough, hemp has been completely legal for decades.
“Every ad was rejected,” said a frustrated Goose.
“We’re very confused as to why they would reject them given that hemp was legal.”
Hoping to get some clarity on the matter, Goose contacted a Facebook support staffer who affirmed him that he wasn’t promoting an illegal substance.
However, the support worker said, “At times some content may get detected related to content that has been marked as unsafe.”
Citing his biggest issue as getting the company name out in the open, Goose’s accessibility troubles highlight the importance of big tech and small business harmonising.
66 per cent of small businesses in the US use Facebook for advertising and likewise, 41 per cent use Instagram according to a Statista survey.
Goose continued to affirm the importance Facebook had on his businesses overall success.
He said that being a company without a major budget, Facebook’s low-cost geographic and interest-based targeting is a huge difference-maker.
While Meta did not respond to a request for comment by The Post, Meta’s ad rules prohibit “the sale or use of illicit or recreational drugs, or other unsafe substances, products or supplements, as determined by Facebook in its sole discretion.”
This isn’t the first time Facebook has been criticised for enacting needless ad censorship.
B&T has previously reported about a recent Facebook censorship accusation made by New Zealand-based period underwear brand AWWA.
They claimed that Facebook banned an ad for its products as they featured period blood.
