• by Colin Kirkland , February 13, 2025

Meta is offering advertisers more control over their ad placements through comment and publisher controls as well as “blocklists” supported by additional third-party brand-safety and measurement companies, including DoubleVerify and Zefr, in addition to Integral Ad Science (IAS).

The tech giant first announced its support of blocklists -- automated lists that brands can use to make sure their ads are not displayed alongside potentially disagreeable content -- last October when it partnered with IAS.

Now, brands can work directly with IAS, DoubleVerify and Zefr to create blocklists for any category across Facebook and Instagram Feed and Reels, “so long as they adhere to the Meta's Discriminatory Practices policy,” the company says, adding that “businesses should ultimately decide what their suitability preferences are.”

According to Meta, blocklists can be layered over Meta's existing inventory filter or used independently.

In addition to blocklists, Meta says it is also testing a new control that allows brands to turn off the comments on their Facebook and Instagram ads, which the company believes will be helpful in regards to “running sensitive campaigns” or “during periods of heightened sensitivity.”

However, comment controls are still only available to “a limited number of businesses.” Meta says it will continue to test and iterate the tool and its availability.

The company is also expanding “publisher block list” controls from Instagram to Facebook, allowing more businesses to upload a list of any public profiles where they don’t want their ads to appear. This feature is still in testing.