Meta: New EU Regulations – Important Information for Your Facebook and Instagram Advertising
Starting June 5, 2023, an important change will take effect that impacts your Facebook and Instagram advertising if you run ads targeting the EU, associated territories, or globally. The update requires you to disclose both the person or organization benefiting from the ad (“Beneficiary”) and the entity covering the cost of the ad (“Payer”).
The New Regulation and What It Means for You
From June 21, 2023, providing “Beneficiary” and “Payer” details will become mandatory for all new, duplicated, or edited ads targeting the EU or associated territories. If you do not provide this information, your ad will not be published. This rule applies across all ad creation surfaces, including the Marketing API.
Later this year, the disclosed information will be made available in the Meta Ad Library. However, it will not appear in the ad itself or in the feed. The details will remain in the Ad Library for up to one year after the ad’s last impression.
What You Should Do
If you are running ads for the EU or its associated territories, you must provide both a “Beneficiary” and a “Payer.” Here are a few examples:
- If you are a small business advertising your own company, you can list your company name as both “Beneficiary” and “Payer.”
- For a subsidiary of a parent company, the “Beneficiary” could be the subsidiary or brand, while the “Payer” would be the parent company.
- If you are an individual promoting a product, service, candidacy, etc., the “Beneficiary” must be the product, service, or candidate. In this case, you yourself would be the “Payer.”
When determining the “Beneficiary,” you have several options. You can choose from up to ten “Recently Used” entities from your ad account or manually enter a different one, as long as it complies with Meta’s Community Standards, Advertising Standards, and Instagram’s Community Guidelines (if applicable).
Once you’ve set the “Beneficiary,” you can also indicate if another person or organization is paying for the ad. If the “Beneficiary” and “Payer” are the same entity, you don’t need to check the additional field.
These changes are being introduced in response to EU regulatory requirements and aim to increase transparency in online advertising. While they add a few extra steps, they will not impact ad delivery, costs, bidding, feature access, or ad review.
How to Prepare
Before June 5, you should decide who will be listed as “Beneficiary” and “Payer” for your ads. Starting June 5, we recommend entering this information into Ads Manager or the Marketing API, especially if you are creating new, duplicated, or edited ads targeting the EU or associated territories.
From June 21, it is essential to have this information provided; otherwise, your Facebook and Instagram ads cannot be published. Ads that were launched before June 21 and remain unedited after this date will not be affected and require no action.
It’s always a good practice to stay informed about applicable laws and regulations in the countries where you advertise and to consult a legal advisor if necessary.
