Facebook allowed advertisers to target emotionally vulnerable people as young as 14, using algorithms to find when they feel "worthless" and "defeated".  It appears to be a violation of Australian law.

A 23-page internal report obtained by The Australian newspaper uses algorithms to collect data on the emotional state of 6.4 million "high schoolers," "tertiary students," and "young Australians and New Zealanders".  The algorithms examine posts, pictures, and reactions to determine when these young people feel "worthless" or "insecure" and "need a confidence boost".  These young people are considered to be well-positioned to receive an advertiser's message.

Troubled Teen

A Facebook spokesman told The Australian, "We have opened an investigation to understand the process failure and improve our oversight.  We will undertake disciplinary and other processes as appropriate." 

In addition, another spokesman told the website Mashable that the document's insights were never used to target ads.  "Facebook does not offer tools to target people based on their emotional state.  The analysis done by an Australian researcher was intended to help marketers understand how people express themselves on Facebook," said the spokesperson.  "Facebook has an established process to review the research we perform.  This research did not follow that process, and we are reviewing the details to correct the oversight."

The Australian Code for Advertising and Marketing Communications to Children says that children 14-years and younger must "obtain a parent or guardian's express consent prior to engaging in any activity that will result in the collection or disclosure of personal information".  Marketers monitoring Facebook to find young people in a dark place to target them with advertising seem to be contrary to that code.