• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, March 17, 2022

As part of a long-term commitment to give brands more control over the content they are associated with on Facebook and Instagram, Meta this morning announced plans to test new content-based controls late this year and in early 2023, and also announced that it has selected Zefr as a “third-party brand safety partner” to develop a solution that will verify whether content adjacent to an ad in its social media fees “aligns with a brand’s suitability preferences.”

In a blog post this morning, Meta described Zefr’s selection as “an extensive vetting process,” but did not disclose any details about what its solution would entail, or what advertisers or agencies would participate in testing it.

However, it provided a statement from Omnicom Media Group Senior Vice President-Marketplace Intelligence Ben Hovaness, who said the move demonstrates Meta’s “commitment to core goals of both OMG’s CASA  (Council for Accountable Social Advertising) initiative, and GARM [Global Alliance for Responsible Media] giving advertisers control over -- and insights into -- where their ads appear.”

As for the development of new content-based controls for businesses advertising adjacent to Facebook and Instagram feeds, Meta described the status as having "begun scoping and building these new controls" and said they will initially focus "on primarily English-speaking markets, with plans to test in the second half of the year before rolling more broadly in early 2023.

"Over the course of the next year, we will expand placement coverage to include Stories, Reels, Video Feeds, Instagram Explore and other surfaces across Facebook and Instagram, as well as expanding to additional languages. "