Asking how Facebook ad policy works dealing with a restricted ad account? You’ve come to the right place – I’ve worked at Meta in multiple departments from ad to tech and will help you make sense of Facebook ad policy to avoid bans. Want to just get a restricted FB ad account fixed and don’t want to spend the time reading this article? Schedule a discovery call here, free for a limited time.
Facebook policy for advertising sounds simple but it’s pretty complex – it’s dangerous to think Facebook will take the time to understand you, your ads, or why the automations ban you. Would you like a clear explanation?
Overview
When Facebook was first established it was just for college kids, and soon it ballooned into a billion dollar empire. Similar to a city that grows too fast for its own infrastructure to support the traffic, city codes, building violations, and so on – Facebook has too much traffic to handle the ads from a human level. (don’t miss out on this ad account restriction guide)
So, they hired engineers I’ve worked with to design the automations to replace the humans reviewing your ads for Facebook ad policy compliance. And as a result, a lot of advertisers and businesses get banned without warning or explanation. Why is that?
Facebook ad policy
Facebook ad policy is designed to stop bad actors from scamming innocent Facebook users – and I’ve oversaw the outsourced workers who review your content, moderating it to ensure compliance.
You may not know this but there are a TON of bad actors out there skimming and scamming every DAY – in fact it’s gotten so bad I wrote an indepth guide on how to prevent getting hacked on Facebook and what to do if you HAVE been hacked while running ads on Facebook you can access it here.
Meta advertising policy principles
The more eyes are on content, the more chance ads will be displayed to FB users, so high engagement is prioritized.
The ad review process
Facebook rarely puts human eyes on ads, the decision to approve or reject a Facebook ad is done by machines 90% of the time. And typically they have, maximum, 24 hours to approve or reject a FB ad. If it goes longer than that “in review” you’ll want to reach out to Facebook ad support.
What to do if your ad is rejected or if your business asset is restricted
The first step is to stop taking actions on Facebook with Ads Manager, Facebook Business Manager, and your Page. Often the biggest fail comes from acting too quickly without examining your entire funnel and assessing the damage before acting.
Community standards
Typically, there’s no cross over from facebook ad policies that govern all ads you run on Facebook and the Community Standards which regulate the organic content. Facebook has workers in sweatshops overseas monitoring the organic content and removing porn, violence, drugs and more. You won’t see Community Standards violations in Ads Manager, they’ll be in the Support Inbox, visible from your Profile (not FB Business Page)’s privacy settings.
Anytime you report a fake profile on Facebook you’ll see the Support Inbox filled with automated messages, and sometimes you can reach a person – but this is for non-advertising issues.
Facebook Ad Policy Content
Unacceptable content
When you look at Facebook ad policy on unacceptable content, you’ll see things like, don’t sell illegal items, or exploit people but what this manifests as in your real, every day experience running ads for profit is the part where Meta talks about Misinformation.
If you cut out all the BS and fluff what Facebook is saying for Facebook ad policy here is TLDR: “Don’t look like spam or an MLM.”
Facebook Ad Policy: Deceptive Ads
Deceptive content
Let me decode this for you, as it isn’t clear from reading this section on Facebook ad policy what Facebook means when you break it down to nuts and bolts. Meta here is saying don’t make exaggerated claims that don’t sound realistic in their opinion for what an average person’s results may be using your product or service. So, tone down your ad copy from anything that sounds like a tabloid or over sensational.
Facebook Ad Policy Restricted Products
Restricted goods and services
You may be blissfully unaware of certain banned business models on Facebook and specific types of products you can’t sell on Facebook which include:
- Animals
- Crypto Currency
- Tobacco
One of the reasons why people who sell CBD have such a hard time ever getting it live on Facebook is because the bots will flag anything smoke-related as selling cigarettes. I have an article about selling CBD on Facebook you may find helpful here.
Facebook Ad Policy: Objection
Objectionable content
What Facebook means by “Objectionable content” for Facebook ad policy is:
- No nudity (seems obv)
- No cursing in ads (don’t try to be cute here)
- No Graphic Content
What that typically looks like in ads is if you try to go too extreme or shocking with kicking the pain points when writing ad copy. Want to stop reading an encyclopedia of Facebook ad policy and just ensure your ads get approved?
Or recover from a restricted ad account? Then you’re like my client Cubatica who ran ads for Tony Robbins that I prescreened for his Knowledge Broker Blueprint (KBB) launch. Schedule your Facebook ad policy discovery call today right here.Facebook ad policy discovery call today right here.
Facebook Ad Policy IP
Intellectual property infringement
It’s crazy how obvious this is – yet every year I still see many of my clients come to me with IP flags. You cannot borrow authority from a celebrity or name brand of an established company to sell your products, without paying your dues. If you attempt to use a major brand name – including Facebook’s – without a licensing agreement, Facebook will flag you for copyright infringement.
Facebook Ad Policy Political Ads
Social issue, electoral or political advertising
If Facebook’s bots perceive your ad as something political or addressing a social issue you’ll have to mark your ad as a special ad category ad – if you don’t Facebook will ban you.
Facebook Ad Policy: Drugs et al
Product and format-specific policies
This is a fancy way of saying even if your ad is a video ad not a static image ad you still have to obey Facebook ad policy and not have any:
-
Drugs and alcohol use
-
Adult content
-
Profanity
-
Violence and gore
Facebook Ad Policy: Cybersecurity
Advertising policies affecting business assets
Wow, another vague af Facebook ad policy title! What does it mean? It means don’t run ads that Facebook thinks sound real spammy, and don’t try to hack people. This also means don’t SOUND like you are. What do I mean by that? Well, if FB says don’t hack people, check your copy to make sure there are no phrases that could be misinterpreted that way.
POLICIES
What you should know by now is that Facebook doesn’t f@#$! around when it comes to enforcing Facebook ad policy because there are genuinely bad actors out there breaking all the rules to harm others, so they have a better safe than sorry approach. After the Big Tech Layoffs, now Facebook is even more short staffed and relying on automations to make most of their Facebook ad policy decisions. Keep that in mind – machines are reviewing your ads not people.
Want someone who speaks Facebook ad policy bot language? Schedule your discovery call with me today. Schedule your discovery call with me today.
Facebook Ad Policy Enforcing Policy
ENFORCEMENT
The way Facebook automations enforce Facebook ad policy is by building a profile of your actions on Facebook Business Manager, Ads Manager, Facebook Business Page and running ads. After a specific period of time (lets say 60-90 days or sooner) the Facebook ad policy automations may make a conclusion, after seeing a pattern, that you are deliberately breaking Facebook ad policy if you have repeat violations.
Wouldn’t you like to prevent Facebook from banning your ad account?
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Now, you may have noticed Facebook changes their ad policies A LOT!
Who are the Facebook changes really for?
I’m sure we’ve all seen the awkward testimonial from Mark Zuckerberg when he faced Congress. Anytime there is a PR fire – like Cambridge Analytica (I was working at Facebook when this happened), Facebook has to get out and do damage control.
Facebook’s policy is to change Facebook’s policy to show they are doing something about an issue. Even if those changes wreak havoc on advertisers just like you.
Facebook creates new ad automations to police Facebook ads more to please their stakeholders, and show the board they are doing something. What they don’t do is look at the big picture for how these new automations integrate with the existing Facebook bots.
Free eBook: Top 5 Reasons Agencies Fail at Facebook
What are Facebook ad policies?
Advertising Standards
In 2023 if you googled new facebook ad policies 2023 this is what you’d see:
You can see beginning in February 2023, advertisers will only be able to use age and location to reach teens. Facebook is removing gender as a targeting option – thats another update to the Facebook advertising guidelines.
Already completely banned?
If you are running ads and spending $100K a year or more on ads, I can help with that.
Also check out: Top Reasons Why Facebook Disables Ad Accounts
Even if you spent a week reading Facebook’s Ad Policies you’d still be at risk of a shut down for Personal Attributes simply because there are ways Facebook’s bots flag you that Facebook isn’t open about. But that’s what I help businesses and ad agencies with: actual transparency for how Facebook ad policy automations flag and what to do to avoid Facebook jail.
Learn more
Don’t miss out on an opportunity to never have to get flagged again:
Facebook Ad Policy Violations New Solution
Ad agencies: tired of getting the silent treatment from Facebook when all you want to do is get your Facebook ads live and revenue in the door?
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Ad Account Restricted Facebook FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How to fix ad account disabled on facebook
Your first step should always be to stop active ads running with the same copy as the rejected ad, then audit your funnel for flags, and appeal using the strategy outlined in the appeal section of the FAQs
2. How to enable my disabled facebook ad account
If you have a spare ad account in your Facebook Business Manager that you can run ads from, feel free to. BUT, identify the micro and major flags FIRST, so as not to repeat the same mistake.
Ready to Finally Make the Money You Need in the Hours That Work for You & Your Family? Don’t miss out,Learn More here.
3. How to appeal a disabled facebook ad account
As far as how to appeal a disabled Facebook ad account, you’ll get 48 hours to make your appeal. The best strategy is to communicate to Meta | Facebook that:
A. You understand WHY you were banned.
B. You are committed to following the policies from here on out.
C. You have identified and REMOVED the offending content from your funnel.
You can also get some top tips on facebook ad policy in this complimentary eBook: Top 5 Reasons Agencies Fail at Facebook
4. how to get disabled ad account up and running
Depending on how long your ad account was disabled, sometimes, if your appeal is written correctly, the appeal itself CAN potentially get you reactivated, if you understand to communicate with Facebook ad support correctly.
5. How Many Policy Violations Before Account is Shut Down?
Typically, it’s a 1 to 10 ratio. For every single rejected ad that you get, you’ll want 10 Facebook ads that are approved. After a pattern of behavior is established by machine learning, from Meta’s automations, you may spiral rapidly into Facebook jail if your ratios aren’t correct. 3 consecutive ads getting rejected risks your ad account getting disabled. But, it also depends on how severe the ban is.
And, if this still all seems too confusing, your clients are yelling at you to get ads live to bring in money, simply schedule a complimentary Facebook discovery call here
6. How to remove restriction on facebook ad account
As far as removing a restriction on a Facebook ad account, if we’re talking about a disabled ad account, well, you can rehabilitate your funnel and then appeal, possibly getting it reactivated if you do this SMART (I have methods that work if you’re in the appeal window). But as far as removing a restriction from Facebook ads, see the previous FAQ answer: you need to get in a positive approval-cycle ratio.
7. how long does facebook take to review restricted ad account
Now, ask yourself, is it an election year? Have there been over 20,000 Meta employees laid off? Did you word your appeal using specific language Facebook ad support can and will respond better to? These are the factors in play. Typically, you get an answer within a week. If you have a more severe ban or are in the special ad categories, you may get an answer faster but it won’t be one you like. Severe bans end up as permanent restrictions and they deliver that ban hammer faster than other lighter Facebook ad policy restrictions.
8. how to fix your access can’t be reinstated because too much time has passed since we restricted your account
In a situation like this, your recovery options depend on what is banned:
a) Facebook Ad Account
b) Facebook Business Page
c) Facebook Business Manager
d) Facebook profile
So, each one may have a different recovery option, depending on your situation, and type of ban it is, as well as your particular niche or business’s vertical, and the health of the accounts before the ban. Want to get a pathway to get Facebook ads live? Schedule your complimentary discovery call here.
9. How To Get Your Disabled Facebook Ad Account Back
First, let me also address the elephant in the room: personal and emotional attachments to disabled ad accounts. I’ve worked with tons of Fortune 500 level companies, and the amount of hair pulling and FML-ing over ONE ad account being disabled, is incredible. Sometimes, it’s faster, and cheaper, to just start a new ad account, and relaunch, rather than recover a tainted asset.
That being said, the same answer applies here to the instructions above, for appeals
10. How to unblock your Facebook ad account
Now, unblocking an ad account, may be possible if you get in fast enough with the right kind of messaging to Facebook ad support. While they are the gatekeepers, and don’t have any real power, they CAN talk to the right folks who, if you word your appeal right, can unblock your Facebook ad account. And of course, if you need next-level assistance, I’m always available to chat and see if it’s a good fit here.
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