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Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

lerner.co.il

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Re: Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

#361
post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's funny about this is that multiple people at this bank think that a terrorist group would just freely advertise itself this way. Like some local cell leader names his accounts "Groceries", "Home Repair", "Bombing Supplies"

No, they don't. The banks know perfectly well that this doesn't catch terrorists. But by law they are liable if a terrorist uses their services if they don't have a program to detect terrorists. A key-word match on Iran, bomb, ISIS, etc. is enough in the eyes of the regulator.

No it isn't (at least in the US). Banks have to adhere to Know Your Customer laws, and have to refuse services related to any person or group that's been sanctioned. OFAC has a search tool for such persons[0], but notably says that even using their tool isn't enough to avoid liability. Just saying "we looked for 'bomb supplies' in the memo" isn't going to cut it.

You might see dumb things because banks will do anything they can think of to ensure they comply, and enough in the eyes of the regulator is that they don't allow banned transactions.

[0] https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/

Re: Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

#362

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's wrong with talking about animals anyway? Truly bizarre.

Just guessing here, but if the senteces sounded like "how to use pandas to help you in work" AI could have decided that you're going to use a cute bear to lay bricks for you. Plus the "exotic animals", as someone else mentioned.

Not guessing, I used to work on that team: it’s based on keywords alone. The list of items is too big and changes too often to handle anything beyond that — more than a trillion edits per month.

I wouldn’t be surprised if you could sell endangered animals if you called them P4ndas.

Re: Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

#363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that it's at the top now is not surprising, Google probably knows you're a programmer and is likely to show you programming-related results. Even if you turn off all tracking and use a private window, there are ways. In my case, the combination of a Polish IP address, Safari on Mac OS and English as the browser language is enough to profile me as "tech-savvy, probably interested in science and edutainment, n…

No. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=kafka also mentions Apache Kafka before Franz's wiki page. DDG's very existence hinges on NOT profiling you, in any way.

I see the same on DDG, but Bing has Franz first for me.

Re: Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

#364

>That’s right: I teach courses in Python and Pandas. Never mind that the first is a programming language and the second is a library for data analysis in Python. Meta’s AI system noticed that I was talking about Python and Pandas, assumed that I was talking about the animals (not the technology), and banned me. If this is true, that is insanely embarrassing for a company that purports to be a sophisticated programmat…

Sounds like speculation to me. Anything to back that up?

The author might be speculating, but I worked on that team and his diagnostic is very likely exact.

Re: Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

#365

> Meta won’t be seeing any of my money, whereas companies like Google, who seem to employ at least some humans in their advertising department — will That is a convoluted way to say you'll do business with companies that accept your business. Google is known for fully automated bans on your full account, not just the advertising part.

I once had a Google adwords campaign shut becuase I was advertising software for the Mac. The software only worked on a mac but I wasn't allowed to use Apple, Mac etc. as Google said they were trademarks. To be clear here, these words were used in context, eg. "Widget counting software for the Mac" not "Genuine Apple Software".

ISTR I appealed, and was turned down with no recourse. There was basically nothing I could do to advertise software just for the Mac.

Re: Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

#366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Em, this is a private company. I see what you mean, but this hardly points to some dystopia.

That's cute. With sufficient size and influence over your life, a private company is a form of government.

Meta only has as much influence over our lives as we give it. I don't use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, or any Meta product. What influence does the company have over me that even remotely rises to the level of "government?"

Re: Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

#367
This happens to many many small businesses, they unilaterally ban you for nothing shady. I'm talking about mom and pop stores, businesses who have been using FB ads for ages. Suddenly poof, that marketing channel and the revenue that comes with it is gone and is not appealable.

Re: Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

#369

Other similar cases I'm aware of. * The Scunthorpe problem, AOL didn't let users set their hometown to Scunthorpe because of the "cunt" substring. This is a classic. * Amazon banning sales of Guns N' Roses merch (because guns). * People named Miranda having issues with bank transfers (because of the substring "Iran"). * Some games displaying the nickname "Nasser" as "N* er", suggesting that it is the n word. Alexa no…

Searching for Kinky Kids, a Japanese boy band since 2000s, would trigger a warning about sexualization of children.
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