Telemedicine companies seeking to advertise on Facebook’s social media platforms will first need special approval and certification before running advertisements. In a recently-announced policy, Facebook introduced additional pre-approval requirements for telemedicine providers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and online pharmacies looking to promote prescription drugs on social media. The new policy is effective August 25, 2021.

Under the policy, before promoting prescription drugs in ads on Facebook, telemedicine providers and online pharmacies must present written certification from Legitscript, a third party company that certifies such businesses. Pharmaceutical manufacturers will also be required to get pre-approval from Facebook prior to running ads promoting prescription drugs.

Only pre-approved advertisers that fall into one of three categories—online pharmacies, telemedicine providers, and pharmaceutical manufacturers—will be permitted to promote these products. Ads must not target people under 18 years of age and will be restricted to persons in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand.

Facebook will now have three distinct advertising policies in this regard: promotion of online pharmacies, promotions of prescription drugs, and promotion of unsafe substances. According to the announcement, the policies are intended to prohibit the promotion of illicit drugs and unsafe substances, while allowing the (restricted) promotion of prescription drugs by approved advertisers.

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