I gave up with FB/ Insta and cannabis years agao and a good thing too as they are still at it when it comes to treating cannabis businesses like ****
MJ Biz
Despite growing acceptance of cannabis, many state-regulated marijuana businesses say their social media pages are being hidden, engagement is being throttled and – in some cases – accounts are being shut down.
Because most states restrict marijuana ads from television, radio and print media, licensed operators have turned to social media platforms such as Instagram, owned by Meta, to spread their messages.
“Meta updated its terms and conditions about two weeks ago,” said John Greene, co-owner of Rhode Island cannabis cultivator CMS Gardens.
“As soon as that email was sent to Meta users, thousands of accounts that were related to cannabis started going down.”
Green described Meta’s previous guidelines as “more relaxed” until the update.
Rusty Wilenken, co-founder and CEO of California-based cannabis brand Old Pal, said his company’s social media accounts have been “shadow banned” many times over the years.
The practice of shadow banning often happens without businesses realizing their posts are being hidden from followers.
A shadow ban can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on the violation and how quickly the company addresses it.
“If you’re going to be a brand and have an Instagram and try to push content, it’s inevitable,” Wilenken said. Read story
