Facebook’s Meta logo sign is seen at the company headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. on Oct. 28, 2021.
Jeff Roberson/AP Photo

Implications for tech

For groups like the National Right to Life Committee, the uncertainty helps the cause.

Ziegler predicts laws that penalize sharing information on abortion will have a chilling effect on the digital ad industry, possibly causing platforms to suppress abortion advertising and abortion content voluntarily in states where it’s not legal. It may already be happening. Last month, Vice reported that Instagram and Facebook removed posts from users offering to share abortion pills. Meta, their corporate parent, said the posts violated its policies on regulated goods.

Facebook and Google allow advertising for abortion services on their ad networks, however, abortion advocacy groups said the platforms’ ad-approval process is opaque.

“They have control over who we reach and have control over how we say things.”

Martha Dimitratou, head of social media for Plan C, an advocacy group that target ads at people in states that ban abortion to connect them with online services that provide abortion pills.

Dimitratou said she’d had difficulty with ads using phrases like “ending a pregnancy” or simple words like “pills.”

To advertise keywords related to the act of seeking an abortion advertisers must apply for certification with Google and demonstrate they’re not engaged in fraud. To block advertising for fraudulent products, Google screens ads before they run on its site, using software and staff to flag seemingly innocuous words.

Plan C, as an advocacy group, does not always qualify for the kinds of certifications that abortion providers can get and has not applied for them.

Several abortion clinics said they are not having the same difficulty getting ads approved by the internet firms. They also do not advertise in states where abortion is illegal.

Dimitratou said Facebook often rejects Plan C’s ads for “promoting the sale of unsafe substances,” the determination of which is under corporate parent Meta’s discretion. Like Google, Meta has special approval processes for running ads about abortion as well as medications. However, only online pharmacies, telehealth providers, and pharmaceutical manufacturers can apply.

Google acknowledges that its advertising policies could change. For example, Google recently allowed groups dispensing abortion pills by mail to qualify for ad certifications previously only given to in-person abortion providers after the FDA permitted mail distribution in December 2021. Google does bar abortion-related ads in 72 countries where it’s illegal.

Michael Aciman, a spokesman for Google, said it is “still evaluating the court’s decision and laws around the country and will continue to monitor for new developments.”