Advertising on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram is a common marketing strategy for many businesses. Government agencies and consumer advocates have increasingly scrutinized this practice to determine if the advertisements use consumers’ personal information in a manner that implicates federal and state data privacy laws. In response to this scrutiny, Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) has implemented new rules effective January 2025. These new rules restrict advertisements that target consumers based on sensitive categories of personal information.

It is critical for health and wellness businesses and other companies that rely on Facebook and Instagram advertising to understand how the new rules work, as they have the potential to upend marketing strategies and campaigns. This blog reviews the new rules, including their specific restrictions and the types of businesses likely to be affected. It also considers how businesses might limit the impact of the new rules on their bottom line.

Why Is This Happening?
The implementation of the new rules follows a period in which online advertising policies and data collection practices have been subject to heightened scrutiny. In 2023, the Federal Trade Commission entered settlements with BetterHelp and GoodRx that resolved allegations the two companies collected their users’ personal information without consent and improperly shared it with social media platforms for advertising purposes. A series of lawsuits were then filed in 2023 and 2024 against companies that allegedly use Meta’s technology, Pixel, to monitor consumers’ online behavior and collect their personal information. Numerous states have also started to implement their own laws that create or expand on existing data privacy protections, including restrictions on a business’s ability to use personal information for marketing purposes such as online and social media advertising.

Meta states that the new rules are intended to promote a safer and more transparent social media experience for consumers. In light of the current legal and enforcement landscape, the new rules could also help Meta mitigate its levels of risk in connection with its receipt of personal information from the businesses that advertise on its social media platforms.

What Are the Changes?
Under the new rules, Meta has begun categorizing businesses based on the products they offer. A business that falls within a sensitive category (explained further below), such as health and wellness, can no longer send Meta personal information, including mid- and lower-level “funnel data,” such as whether consumers have purchased a certain product in the past or added it to their online “cart.” This personal information helps optimize social media advertisements because it allows the business to target consumers who are already close to purchasing a product directly. As a result, the new rules create a challenge from a marketing standpoint because restricting the transfer of this personal information for social media advertising purposes makes it more difficult to design an effective campaign.

The new rules may also inhibit a business’s ability to design an effective campaign through restrictions on the Conversions API (CAPI), which serves as a direct link between Meta and the real-time marketing data on the business’s servers. Access to certain Meta business tools, including Pixel, may also be blocked. Importantly, the restrictions may be full or partial depending on a particular business’s circumstances.

Who Will Be Affected?
Meta has not yet issued specific guidelines on the types of businesses that fall within each of the sensitive categories, but it has stated that the “health and wellness” category is inclusive of any business “associated with medical conditions, specific health statuses, or provider/patient relationships.” Meta has also noted that a business is more likely to be placed within the health and wellness category, where it markets its products for certain medical conditions. Based on this broad view, the health and wellness category potentially includes businesses that sell supplements or devices as a specific treatment, telehealth practices, pharmacies, fitness or dieting programs, or mental health services. By contrast, products intended to support general wellness (e.g., certain vitamins) or utilized for cosmetic purposes may be less likely to fall within the health and wellness category.

Meta will notify a business via email or through its Meta account when it has determined that the business belongs in the health and wellness category. Meta’s review process is ongoing, and there is no firm deadline by which a business should expect to receive a determination.

What Should My Business Do?

Businesses placed in Meta’s health and wellness category can take the following steps to protect their rights and limit the impact of the new rules on their advertising.

• Appeal. On occasion, Meta’s broad view of the health and wellness category may accidentally lead to the misclassification of a particular business. If you believe that an error has been made, such as because your products are not associated with certain medical conditions or you do not have provider/patient relationships with consumers, you should promptly contact Meta and request instructions for submitting an appeal. Contacting Meta is necessary as a formal appeal procedure has not yet been established in connection with the new rules. However, it is unclear how Meta will respond or how long such responses will take.
• Branding Changes. Some businesses may choose to proactively review their website and other public-facing language and make changes to reduce the likelihood that they will be placed in the health and wellness category. Depending on the circumstances, these changes could include broadening language related to the purposes of a particular product so that they focus on general wellness or cosmetic purposes rather than certain medical conditions.
• Alternative Strategies and Forums. A business at risk of being placed in the health and wellness category may also shift its Meta advertising strategies to focus on brand awareness or campaigns that utilize non-restricted data like consumer “landing page views” or other forms of engagement. These businesses may further evaluate opportunities on social media platforms other than Facebook and Instagram that have not yet restricted advertising practices that target consumers based on certain categories of personal information, e.g., Google, TikTok (while it remains in service in the U.S.), mobile gaming applications, and paid social media influencers.
• Seek Assistance. Businesses can also help protect themselves to the greatest extent possible by engaging counsel to help navigate the policies and procedures underlying Meta’s new rules, which continue to develop. In particular, counsel can help interpret and advise on the applicability of any guidelines released in the coming months that offer additional details on the types of businesses that fall within the health and wellness category.