Businesses selling hemp-based foods and other products are considering a class action lawsuit over a ban on advertising by Facebook and Instagram.
Businesses that sell products including hemp clothing and hemp seed milk say their sales are being affected by the inability to market their products via social media, Smart Company reports.
“There’s no further action you may take here. We don’t support ads for your business model,” Facebook reportedly told Australian plant-based milk business Ulu Hye. “Please consider this decision final.”
According to Facebook's advertising policy, companies may not promote the sale or use of “illegal, prescription or recreational drugs”.
While hemp is a variety of the cannabis plant, its seeds are recognised as a health food due to its high protein, omega-3 and omega-6 content. It contains no or little delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a psychoactive substance found in high doses in marijuana plants, but up until 2017, its use as a food or beverage ingredient was illegal in Australia.
Facebook's main concern, according to reports, is the possibility of ads appearing in countries where hemp is still illegal.
