US
Stanford University researchers have discovered another problem for Facebook Inc.: the “widespread” promotion of tobacco products on the Facebook platform.
The researchers found that tobacco products are promoted and sold across Facebook despite policies the social media platform employs to prevent that. They also found some e-cigarette pages show product photos and lists of flavor options while hosting a big “buy now” button that takes the user off of Facebook and moves them to a separate e-commerce site run by the company.
Both “buy now” links and images of tobacco products are banned under Facebook’s tobacco advertising rules. However, Facebook permits blogs or groups connecting people with tobacco-related interests, as long as these do not promote or directly lead to sales.
The research team grew concerned when they found that the ads and promos were made available to younger users as well and has gone public with its findings, hoping that the current environment will inspire Facebook to correct this problem as well.