Agencies and marketing teams / Taboola
3 Taboola policy rules bear on agencies and in-house marketing teams
3 rules come from Taboola policy and match the wording agencies and in-house marketing teams use. None of them is exclusive to Taboola. The rest are shared with the policies of Amazon Ads, Meta (Facebook and Instagram) and Microsoft Advertising (Bing). None of them block approval; all 3 warn. Of the 7 platforms with a page for this industry, it has the 6th most rules.
What Taboola policy adds
Platform rules are about ad approval and account risk, not law, and policies change. These are the Taboola rules whose wording is about patient quotes, reviews, endorsements, tracking and audience targeting. They run when Taboola is selected in the checker.
CG-PLT-001 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text
Meta bars ads that assert or imply the viewer's physical or mental health, including medical conditions, for example "Do you have diabetes?". Nextdoor, X, Amazon and Taboola bar the same move (asserting knowledge of a viewer's health, speaking directly to the customer about a condition or weight). This is platform policy, not law, and an ad can be rejected or an account restricted.
Source: Meta Advertising Standards, Personal attributes; Nextdoor Ads Policy (advertisement targeting, personal attributes); X Ads targeting of sensitive categories policy; Amazon Ads sponsored ads policies; Taboola Health Supplement Advertising Guidelines
Safer wording: Address the topic, not the viewer. Say "Depression affects many adults. Talk to a clinician." instead of "Are you struggling with depression?".
Meta Advertising Standards, Personal attributes, X Ads targeting of sensitive categories policy, Amazon Ads sponsored ads policies, Taboola Health Supplement Advertising Guidelines, Nextdoor Ads Policy
CG-PLT-009 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text
In the United States TikTok allows only CBD products that are topical hemp products under 0.3% THC, with LegitScript certification, a TikTok sales representative, and audiences aged 25 or older. All other CBD products are not allowed. Amazon Ads prohibits oils, supplements, cosmetic beauty products and ingestibles that contain CBD or THC. Taboola accepts CBD only in listed countries, with THC percentage details.
Source: TikTok Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals ad policy (United States, cannabidiol products); Amazon Ads sponsored ads policies; Taboola Policy FAQ health and beauty
Safer wording: Remove the CBD product from the ad, or confirm the platform allows it for your product, country and audience first.
Amazon Ads sponsored ads policies, Taboola Policy FAQ health and beauty, TikTok Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals ad policy
CG-PLT-026 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text
Taboola rejects ads that discourage or compare to conventional medicine, such as "Forget the pills", "You don't need surgery" and "Better than medicines". Amazon Ads bars discouraging customers from seeing a qualified medical professional, Microsoft bars claiming a supplement can replace prescribed treatment, and Reddit bars implying a supplement is as effective as or better than an FDA-approved drug.
Source: Taboola Policy FAQ health and beauty; Amazon Ads Healthcare products and services policy; Amazon Ads sponsored ads policies; Microsoft Advertising Healthcare and Pharmaceutical policy; Reddit Ads Healthcare Products and Services policy
Safer wording: Present the product as a complement to professional care and leave out any suggestion of skipping or replacing treatment.
Amazon Ads sponsored ads policies, Taboola Policy FAQ health and beauty, Microsoft Advertising Healthcare and Pharmaceutical policy, Reddit Ads Healthcare Products and Services policy, Amazon Ads Healthcare products and services policy
What the checker flags with Taboola selected
None of our sample wording triggers a Taboola rule, so no example is shown. The rules above are still part of the set.
The federal rules that still apply
92 federal and general rules matched to agencies and in-house marketing teams run next to the Taboola ones. The ones that weigh most:
CG-EFF-014 · Blocks approval · Citation checked against stored text
Claims of instant, one-visit or universal results, or of working where all else fails, promise outcomes no clinic can substantiate.
Source: FTC Act section 5; FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance; FTC Endorsement Guides, 16 CFR Part 255
Safer wording: Remove the promise of speed or certainty. Say what the service is and that results vary.
16 CFR Part 255 · Needs counsel review
CG-FTC-001 · Blocks approval · Citation checked against stored text
Buying or selling fake followers, likes, subscribers or views that misrepresent influence for a commercial purpose is an unfair or deceptive practice under the FTC's consumer reviews rule. It applies to anyone who sells them and to a business that buys them.
Source: 16 CFR 465.8 ("Purchase or procure fake indicators of social media influence that they knew or should have known to be fake")
Safer wording: Grow followers and ratings from real people. Remove the offer, or the purchased numbers, from the page.
16 CFR 465.8 · Needs counsel review
CG-INF-001 · Blocks approval · Citation checked against stored text
A free product, a commission or a code is a material connection that must be clearly disclosed, and a before-and-after claim by a paid endorser needs proof and a typical-results statement.
Source: FTC Endorsement Guides, 16 CFR Part 255; FTC Rule on Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, 16 CFR Part 465; FTC Act section 5
Safer wording: Put a clear disclosure of any payment, gift or commission at the start of the post, and remove unproven results claims.
16 CFR Part 255, 16 CFR Part 465 · Needs counsel review
CG-OIG-001 · Blocks approval · Citation checked against stored text
Paying or rewarding anyone for referring patients or for each prescription can violate the federal anti-kickback statute, and paying influencers without disclosure violates endorsement rules.
Source: federal anti-kickback statute, 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b; OIG Special Fraud Alert on telemedicine arrangements; FTC Endorsement Guides, 16 CFR Part 255
Safer wording: Remove payments tied to referrals or prescriptions. Pay marketers a fixed fee for services set in advance, and require clear disclosure of any paid endorsement.
16 CFR Part 255, 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b · Needs counsel review
Everything for the industry is on the agencies and marketing teams page, and all Taboola rules for any industry are on the Taboola page.
Next step
Check your Taboola agency copy
Pick Taboola in the checker's ad platforms picker and every flag cites the rule and source listed above.