Women Challenge Meta Over Bad Ads

Algorithms of Grief: Women Challenge Meta Over Painful Baby Ads

For countless women, the discovery of a pregnancy opens a new world of online searches. Questions about due dates, midwife appointments, and fetal development fill their browser histories. Sammi Claxon's experience took a devastating turn. Shortly after she started looking up information, the platform's algorithms identified her as an expectant mother, triggering a barrage of promotions for baby-related products.

However, the advertisements persisted even after a miscarriage shattered her hopes. Following her initial pregnancy loss in 2021, Ms Claxon experienced four more over the next three years. She described how a positive test result immediately instills the profound sense of being a mother. The sudden erasure of that imagined future is an awful experience.

A profound sense of shame and isolation followed. When she sought comfort on social platforms, her feeds became inundated with baby-related advertising, each a painful reminder. Ms Claxon, who resides in Nottinghamshire's Blidworth, made the decision to step away from social platforms to safeguard her own wellbeing. She is not alone, as a growing number of women are speaking out against the technology giant.

A Landmark Legal Challenge

In 2017, Tanya O’Carroll also found herself inundated by targeted Facebook promotions after discovering she was expecting. She described the experience as unsettling, particularly as the ads appeared before she had shared the news with her closest friends and family. This invasive experience prompted her to take legal action against the company.

In a landmark case, Ms O’Carroll’s lawsuit argued that Meta’s advertising system constituted direct marketing under UK law. This classification is significant because it provides citizens the legal standing to protest and opt out. In March, the parent company of Facebook settled the case, consenting to cease using her private data for promotional purposes.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s data watchdog, supported Ms O’Carroll’s position. It affirmed the legal standing of individuals to oppose their information being utilised for this type of marketing. Meta had argued its system targets groups of at least 100 people, not individuals, but the ICO disagreed.

A Precedent Set, A Problem Unsolved

Following the settlement, Ms O’Carroll stated that she had effectively disabled all unsettling and intrusive promotions on the platform. It is now understood that she is the single individual among the United Kingdom's 50 million-plus Facebook users who is no longer subject to such promotions. Her victory has been an inspiration; a figure now exceeding ten thousand individuals has lodged similar protests with Meta, potentially leading to further legal challenges.

However, for a great number of women in comparable circumstances, the issue persists. They report still being inundated with commercials related to pregnancy after losing a baby. The legal precedent set by one case has not yet translated into a systemic change that protects all vulnerable users from demonstrably harmful content.

These women’s experiences highlight a critical flaw in the algorithmic systems that drive online advertising. While powerful enough to infer pregnancy from browsing habits, these systems appear incapable of understanding the nuances of human grief and loss, continuing to push content that causes profound distress.

The Human Cost of Automated Marketing

For Rhiannon Lawson, a Suffolk resident, this pain is deeply personal. She and Mike, her partner, were filled with optimism upon seeing a positive result on their pregnancy test. They even chose a name for their baby, Fantus, inspired by a character from a Danish children’s show. Their joy was cut short when a medical examination confirmed a miscarriage had occurred around the eighth week.

She conceived once more the following October, with initial scans offering comfort. But a heartbreaking discovery occurred during the scan at 20 weeks. Their baby boy, Hudson, was afflicted with a serious type of hypoplastic left heart syndrome. This congenital condition affects normal blood flow through the heart because the left side is critically underdeveloped.

She explained no path forward existed. In March, Hudson arrived stillborn at the 22-week mark. Deep in their grief, the couple used online platforms for comfort and engaged in word puzzles with one another. Yet, even after they had said their final farewells to their son, their phones still showed promotions for baby items, a constant, cruel reminder. Ms Lawson observes that technology lacks a comprehension of grief and reminds them of everything they are now without, with painful accuracy.

Paying a Price for Peace

In a controversial development, Meta recently declared it would offer a plan based on subscription for its British user base wishing to avoid commercials. For a monthly payment of £2.99, individuals can choose an experience free of ads. This approach to advertising, which is called “consent or pay,” is a method for the proprietors of online platforms to earn money from individuals who choose not to have their internet activity monitored for promotional reasons.

This solution has been met with anger and disbelief by many bereaved parents. Rhiannon Lawson argues that the model is unreasonable. She argued that it seems illogical to ask users to pay a fee to avoid upsetting content if Meta was genuinely concerned about them. The proposal puts a price on privacy and peace of mind, a cost many feel they should not have to bear.

Privacy advocates have also criticised the model, arguing it creates a two-tiered system where only those who can afford it can protect their data. The Open Rights Group has stated that Meta is failing to respect users' data rights and that people who want a free service should be asked for upfront consent for their data to be used in advertising.

A System That Fails to Listen

After three unsuccessful IVF rounds, Hayley Dawe and Anthony, her partner, were astounded to learn they were going to have twins. They joined support communities online for twins and began exploring the internet for helpful information and recommendations. Their elation became sorrow when an initial ultrasound showed one twin had passed away. During her following ultrasound, a hush fell over the room as they discovered their other twin had also died.

Ms Dawe described the experience as shattering. She looked for comfort in discussion boards online but was instead met with a continuous stream of promotions for maternity clothing and applications to track pregnancy. For her, disconnecting from social platforms was out of the question, as it was the one space where she could find other women navigating similar difficult journeys.

The platform includes 'Parenting' as an interest, alongside hobbies such as 'board games' and 'wrestling'. Ms Dawe was appalled that 'pregnancy' was not available as an individual category she could block. She explained that deactivating the 'parenting' selection yielded no change, with promotions related to pregnancy still appearing.

"Inhumane" Practices and Broken Tools

The experiences of these women are unsurprising to Arturo Bejar, a former senior employee at Meta. He revealed that user feedback mechanisms were frequently non-functional. He explained that the function to report spam was inoperative. He also observed that, in certain situations, help requests were deleted because the volume was too high.

His employment with Meta spanned from 2009 to 2015, and he returned from 2019 until 2021. In 2023, he provided testimony before the US Congress, stating his conviction that the company was failing to ensure its users' safety. He accused the company of placing user acquisition and revenue generation above the welfare of its community. He stated they profess to be concerned, but their primary focus is on acquiring more people for their platforms to generate greater revenue. He described the company’s attitude as inexcusable and lacking humanity.

Replying to these accounts, a representative for Meta said the company considers these issues with gravity. The company commented that it is constantly working to enhance the precision and consideration of ad distribution. The representative acknowledged their algorithms are imperfect and urged individuals to exclude themselves from particular classifications as the models are refined.

Navigating Grief in a Digital World

The pain of these intrusive adverts is felt by many. On April 18, 2020, one woman welcomed her daughter, Liliana, into the world. The pregnancy was carried for forty weeks, but the baby's heartbeat ceased only a couple of days past her expected arrival date. The time spent committing her child’s face to memory and feeling her weight are cherished, yet agonizing, recollections.

The term "loss" seems insufficient to describe such a profound event. Following the death of Liliana, this woman welcomed another daughter and a son, but also experienced two more miscarriages. She regards herself as a parent to a pair of infants she is able to embrace, and three others she carries in her heart.

During her lowest points, while looking for comfort on the internet, she is met with promotions showing joyous families, a painful reminder of her own circumstances. These stories underscore a growing conflict between automated technology and human emotion. As algorithms become more sophisticated at predicting our needs, they also demonstrate a profound lack of empathy.

The Broader Regulatory Landscape

The issues raised by these women are part of a wider conversation about data privacy and the power of big tech. In the European Union, Meta has faced significant regulatory pressure. The European Data Protection Board has previously banned the company's targeted advertising practices, finding they did not have a suitable legal basis for processing user data in this way.

This has forced Meta to adapt its business model in Europe. The company is now facing scrutiny over its "consent or pay" model under the EU's Digital Markets Act. Regulators are investigating whether forcing users to pay for privacy is compliant with the law, with the potential for significant daily fines if found in breach.

These regulatory battles in the EU could have ripple effects in the UK. The ICO's support for Tanya O'Carroll's case signals a willingness to challenge the prevailing models of online advertising. As more users become aware of their rights, the pressure on companies like Meta to provide genuine choice and protect vulnerable users will only increase.

A Call for Corporate Responsibility

The accounts of Sammi Claxon, Rhiannon Lawson, and Hayley Dawe are not isolated incidents. They represent a systemic failure to account for the emotional wellbeing of users. Charities such as Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity, and Petals, which provides specialist counselling, offer vital support for bereaved families. However, the onus should not be solely on individuals to navigate a hostile digital environment.

There is a growing demand for technology companies to take greater responsibility for the impact of their products. This includes developing more sensitive advertising systems, providing users with more effective tools to control their online experience, and prioritising user safety over profit.

The campaign for a more compassionate digital world is being spearheaded by the very women most affected by these issues. Their bravery in sharing their stories is forcing a long-overdue reckoning for the technology industry. The algorithms may not understand grief, but the people who design them must be made to listen.