Meta restricts alcohol accounts on Facebook
Tech giant Meta has begun notifying alcohol-related business owners that their Facebook pages will no longer be recommended by the platform’s algorithms, decreasing reach and revenue.
Last week, wine, beer and spirits-related business accounts were notified via email and Facebook notification that their accounts were being restricted and their pages would no longer be recommended by the social media platform’s algorithms because their activity ‘may not follow our rules’.
The alert went on to state that Meta’s technology had found the affected accounts’ content did not follow its Community Standards, and as a result ‘our technology took action’. No further explanation was given.
There have been no apparent recent changes regarding alcohol-related businesses under Facebook’s Restricted Goods and Services page.
There have also not been any changes on the company’s Alcohol page under its advertising standards.
The email from Facebook, which The Spirits Business received, stated that page owners could qualify for recommendation by either fixing these issues or requesting a review. However, the link provided does not lead to a solutions or review request page, and no such page has yet been found.
Similarly, when clicking on the Facebook notification, the ‘Page recommendation’ page invites users to ‘find out more’ about the restriction, but does not provide any further details beyond the notification that the account has been restricted “as a safety measure” because of an undisclosed “rule break”.
However, when viewing the account’s ‘Page status’ and any Community Standards violations raised, The Spirits Business has been informed that “no violations show”.
US-based publication Northwest Wine Report reported that potentially “millions of pages” have been impacted.
It has also confirmed that businesses that have reported that their Facebook pages are no longer being recommended include wineries, breweries, distilleries, and related media and event pages, wine educational programmes, wine software companies, restaurants, bars, and wine and liquor stores across the US and around the world.
One user with Meta Verified, which comes with live support, told Northwest Wine Report that a support agent said that the notification and subsequent restriction was a “bug”. However, Meta has not yet informed businesses of an issue that it is aware.
At present, it appears the restrictions only apply to Facebook accounts, and not Instagram, which is also owned by Meta.
Last year TikTok updated alcohol advertising policy to allow alcohol adverts on the platform, subject to certain restrictions.
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