Facebook Banning ICO Ads a Good Thing for Crypto

Anyone that has spent any time on ‘the social network’ will be well aware that 80% of what you see there is digital dross. Facebook is renowned for disseminating clickbait, scams, fraudulent adverts, and malware. Finally, the company has made some moves to clean up its act where ICOs and cryptocurrency advertising is concerned.

Both Facebook and Google have recently been caught getting paid for adverts to fraudulent websites. Just last week it was discovered that Google’s DoubleClick ad platform was propagating mining malware via YouTube. The ad revenue buck is the bottom line for these two monopolies it seems.

Curbing Crypto Ads

This week it was reported on CNBC that Facebook has announced that it would be banning all ads for ICOs and crypto in what it deems “financial products and services frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices.”

The social media giant has yet to take action in banning con artists that frequently use the platform to ply their wares and deceive others, but this is a first step. According to the report, ads that violate the company’s new policy will be banned on Facebook’s core app. Additionally, they will be banned in other places where Facebook sells ads, which includes Instagram and its ad network, Audience Network.

Facebook’s ad tech director Rob Leathern told media:

This policy is intentionally broad while we work to better detect deceptive and misleading advertising practices. We will revisit this policy and how we enforce it as our signals improve.

A sign of the times: one move by FB might actually have done more to protect consumers than any number of regulator warnings and enforcement actions https://t.co/VVTO6SEUBn

— Reuben Bramanathan (@bramanathan) January 30, 2018

Stabilizing the Ecosystem

The move is a good one for cryptocurrency and the industry in general. Facebook has been a hotbed of scams and duplicitous activity which seems to have run unchecked for months leading many into losing their cash. Cryptocurrency startup advisor, Kyle Forkey, told Inverse:

It will be beneficial to the average investor and indirectly beneficial to crypto as a whole. The more we flush out these scammers, the better the ecosystem is going to handle it, so I’m all for it.

He went on to explain that legitimate companies will not be affected by the ad ban:

A majority of the money raised by legitimate ICOs is through partnerships and relationships. I think the only companies that are going to take a hit from losing Facebook advertising are going to be the people not actually putting themselves out there.

Ads, however, are one thing but anonymous Facebook members posting blatant scams to crypto groups is another. Only when the company takes action against them will the platform be a safer place to discuss the industry and investments. Until then tread with caution and always do your own research.

Do you use Facebook to research cryptos? What do you think of the crypto and ICO ad ban? Let us know in the comments below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock

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