How Do Meta Ad Policies Differ by Country?

Meta’s pages describe two layers of rules: Meta’s own advertising standards and terms, and the local laws of every country your ads target. The second layer can differ from one country to the next. This entry is as checked on 2 Oct 2026. It is not legal advice: check the linked page and a qualified adviser for your situation.

Who is responsible for local rules?

You are. Meta says it is the advertiser’s responsibility to understand and follow its advertising standards, its terms of service and any other applicable terms, and that all advertisers are expected to comply with local laws and regulations for any country their ads target.

Before you add a country to an ad set, ask whether your product, claim or offer is regulated there.

What are self-regulatory codes?

Some countries, industries and self-regulatory organizations have their own advertising codes. Meta keeps a non-exhaustive list and says the codes were developed independently of Meta. Examples on its page include the CAP Code for the United Kingdom, the AANA Code of Ethics for Australia, the Brazilian advertising self-regulation code published by CONAR, and the Code for Self-Regulation of Advertising Content in India. Meta also names the ICC advertising and marketing communications code as a baseline used in many countries.

Meta tells advertisers to do their own research on codes that apply where they want to advertise. Look up your country’s code before you launch.

Which Meta rules change with the place?

These are three cases Meta documents:

Area	What Meta says depends on the location
Alcohol	Targeting requirements follow the audience’s location. Meta lists minimum ages that differ: Canada 19, Japan 20, Sweden 25, the United States 21. For countries not listed, ads are allowed if they follow local law and target people at least 18. Meta also says it prohibits alcohol ads in some countries under local laws.
Online gambling and games	You need authorization from Meta, tied to specific ad account IDs and to the territories you pick. Meta says you must be licensed or otherwise lawfully permitted there, and it keeps a list of unsupported markets.
Financial products and services	The special ad category is required for advertisers based in the United States or showing ads to US audiences since 21 January 2025. Meta’s credit rules also cover Canada and a list of European countries.

The alcohol entry and the special ad categories entry cover the details.

Do political ads follow the same pattern?

Yes, and Meta’s page on availability shows how much it varies. Meta says it requires authorizations, and proactively detects or reviews possible social issue, electoral or political ads, in a large list of countries and territories. For a short list, including Hong Kong, Macao and South Korea, it says it strongly encourages authorization and a “Paid for by” disclaimer but does not proactively detect or review these ads. Meta also says that for social issue ads, the authorization and disclaimer apply “within certain countries”.

In the EU, Meta says that from early October 2025 it no longer allows political, electoral and social issue ads on its platforms there, citing the EU’s Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising regulation. See the political ad authorization entry for the rest.

What does not change?

Meta’s page puts the duty on every advertiser in the same way: follow Meta’s standards, terms and guidelines, and local law in any country you target. What changes is which extra rules, ages and authorizations your category triggers in the countries you pick.

FAQ

Does Meta check my ad against local law?

Meta’s page puts that duty on the advertiser: it says all advertisers are expected to comply with local laws and regulations for any country their ads target, in addition to Meta’s own policies. So do not treat an approved ad as a legal check. Ask a qualified adviser, not only the review result.

Where do I find which countries a policy covers?

Open Meta’s policy help page for your category. The alcohol page lists ages by country, the gambling pages point to Meta’s list of unsupported markets, and the financial category page lists the European regions in scope. Read the page for your category on the day you launch.

Are the self-regulatory codes the law?

Meta’s page does not say so. It describes them as codes developed independently of Meta, published by bodies such as Ad Standards in Australia, and as a reference for advertisers. Whether a code or a statute binds you is a question for your adviser and the code’s own publisher.