Etsy Offsite Ads and the Facebook Ad Boycott
According to one seller [screenshot above], Etsy is giving people the ability to opt out of Offsite Ads for July so they can join the Facebook ad boycott that protests Facebook’s failure to remove hate speech, Holocaust denials and other harmful posts and misinformation from its platform. Etsy as a whole has not yet joined the boycott.
[UPDATE (July 2): Etsy has turned my Offsite Ads off for the month of July. Their email stated that they feel that Etsy joining the boycott could hurt shops too much, but that they have turned off all of my offsite ads for the month (apparently it is not possible to turn off just Facebook & Instagram). I can turn the ads back on myself through my dashboard at any time before August 1.]
If you are not familiar with the ad boycott, there are current news stories here, here and here. If you are not familiar with Etsy’s compulsory Offsite Ad program, I collected the facts here.
If you support the boycott and do not want your fees going towards Offsite Ads sales from Facebook and Instagram, please contact Etsy to tell them this. I have submitted a version of the letter below as a Help ticket; you are welcome to copy or modify it for your own use:
Hello
I am appalled that Etsy has not joined the Facebook ad boycott in July, #StopHateforProfit https://www.stophateforprofit.org/
As a company that claims to care about allyship, diversity and inclusion, Etsy’s continued use of Facebook & Instagram ads, which may appear next to hate speech, incitement to violence, Holocaust denials etc. is shocking and hypocritical.
Furthermore, Etsy forcing all shop owners who sell over $10,000 USD in a year to be shown in ads on these two platforms and pay Etsy 12% of all sales that come from those ads is unjust. Unlike Etsy, I do not want to support hate speech with my money, nor do I want my shop name anywhere near these types of Facebook posts.
Etsy needs to join the boycott. Until they do, I will not be making any purchases on Etsy, instead using other platforms and websites to buy from my favourite Etsy sellers. If my forced offsite ads make any Facebook or Instagram sales this month, I will donate more money than the ad fees to groups who work against the hate speech, misinformation and voter suppression tactics that Etsy is supporting with its advertising dollars.
But it would be a much better solution if Etsy stopped all ads on Facebook & Instagram for the month, including ads from my shop.
Regards, CindyLouWho2
If anyone has any success with this approach, please let me know by sending me a message here on Tumblr, on Twitter, or through my website. I will be posting updates here and on Twitter.
If you are an Etsy buyer but not a seller, you can complain to Etsy here.
Please spread the word far and wide! Let’s get Etsy to follow its own proclamations.