Policy changelog

Health Ad Policy Changelog: Meta, Google and TikTok

Every dated change to the health ad rules we follow, with the official page and what it means for your ads. The source link is the rule. The paragraph under it is our reading, because the platforms rarely say what they changed.

Checked October 5, 2026 against each official page. 14 entries, newest first.

Get a free growth audit

  1. Policy page dated September 2026

    TikTok

    TikTok's US policy allows FDA-approved prescription medicine ads, 18+ only

    What changed, our reading

    TikTok's Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals page, last updated September 2026, says US prescription medicine ads may be allowed with proof of approval and certification from regulators such as the FDA, restricted to people 18 and over. TikTok doesn't say when this row changed. Our reading: compounded and unapproved products can't show FDA approval, so compounded GLP-1, testosterone and peptide offers stay awareness-only on TikTok. Most other markets on the page still don't allow prescription medicine ads.

    Affects:
    GLP-1 / medical weight loss · TRT / men's health · Hair loss / ED telehealth · Peptides / longevity compounds · Ketamine / psychedelic therapy · Telemedicine
    Official source:
    TikTok: Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals · read October 5, 2026

  2. FTC

    FTC, Utah and Los Angeles County sue Hims & Hers over health data sent to ad platforms (alleged)

    What changed, our reading

    The FTC, joined by Utah and Los Angeles County, California, alleges that Hims & Hers shared customers' health information with Meta, Snap and other platforms through website tracking events and uploaded customer lists. These are allegations in a complaint, not findings. Our reading for advertisers: keep conversion tracking server-side with neutral event names, under a BAA, and send no names, emails, phone numbers, IP addresses or browser IDs to ad platforms.

    Affects:
    All healthcare advertisers
    Official source:
    FTC press release, July 29, 2026 · read October 5, 2026

  3. FDA

    FDA's compounding advisory committee reviews BPC-157 and six other peptides

    What changed, our reading

    FDA's Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee met on July 23 and 24, 2026 to discuss seven peptides, including BPC-157 and TB-500, for possible inclusion on the 503A bulks list. A committee vote is advice to FDA, not a decision. Our reading: until FDA acts, BPC-157 is not FDA-approved and not on the 503A bulks list, so product ads stay closed on Meta, Google and TikTok.

    Affects:
    Peptides / longevity compounds
    Official source:
    FDA: July 23-24, 2026 PCAC meeting · read October 5, 2026

  4. Meta

    Meta allows before-and-after in 18+ cosmetic and weight-loss ads, with limits

    What changed, our reading

    Meta's Health and Wellness page carries a version dated July 22, 2026. Meta publishes no summary, so this is our reading of the current text: 18+ ads for cosmetic products, procedures or surgeries may depict before-and-after transformation, and 18+ weight-loss ads may show people using the product or service and its impact. Still prohibited: statements of inferiority about appearance, close-ups pinching fat, and promises of specific outcomes within a set timeframe. MedScale still runs no before-and-after in the ads we manage. That's our house rule, not Meta's.

    Affects:
    GLP-1 / medical weight loss · Med spa / aesthetics · Dental / orthodontics
    Official source:
    Meta: Health and Wellness · read October 5, 2026

  5. Posted July 22, 2026. Takes effect August 2026

    Google

  6. Google

    Google ends in-account appeals for decisions more than 6 months old

    What changed, our reading

    Google's words: "Starting July 21, 2026, the option to appeal a policy decision directly from your Google Ads account will not be available for policy decisions made more than 6 months prior." Our reading: appeal a disapproval or suspension while the decision is recent, once the cause is fixed.

    Affects:
    All healthcare advertisers
    Official source:
    Google: Update to Appeals Limits (July 2026) · read October 5, 2026

  7. Page dated June 15, 2026

    FDA

    FDA tells telehealth companies what not to claim about compounded drugs

    What changed, our reading

    FDA's page for telehealth companies lists claims to avoid: calling a compounded drug FDA-approved or a generic, saying it is the same as or clinically proven to match an approved drug, implying the telehealth company is the compounder, or saying it comes from an FDA-approved pharmacy. FDA warning letters to telehealth companies dated June 8, 2026 cite claims like these. Our reading: say "compounded, not FDA-approved" and name the compounding pharmacy.

    Affects:
    GLP-1 / medical weight loss · Any compounded drug
    Official source:
    FDA: What to know when promoting compounded drugs · read October 5, 2026

  8. FDA

    FDA proposes to exclude semaglutide, tirzepatide and liraglutide from the 503B bulks list

    What changed, our reading

    FDA proposed excluding the three GLP-1s from the list of bulk substances that outsourcing facilities may compound from, finding no clinical need. Comments were due June 29, 2026. It is a proposal, not a final decision. Compounded GLP-1s remain compounded, not FDA-approved, either way.

    Affects:
    GLP-1 / medical weight loss
    Official source:
    FDA press announcement, April 30, 2026 · read October 5, 2026

  9. Page dated April 22, 2026

    FDA

    FDA lists BPC-157 as "nominated but withdrawn"

    What changed, our reading

    FDA's page of bulk drug substances that may present significant safety risks (Category 2), current as of April 22, 2026, lists BPC-157 under "nominated but withdrawn". Our reading: leaving that list doesn't make BPC-157 FDA-approved or put it on the 503A bulks list. Product ads stay closed on Meta, Google and TikTok.

    Affects:
    Peptides / longevity compounds

  10. Posted April 7, 2026. Takes effect April 2026

    Google

  11. FDA

    FDA warns 30 telehealth companies over compounded GLP-1 marketing

    What changed, our reading

    FDA sent 30 warning letters to telehealth companies. The main violations it names: claims implying sameness with FDA-approved products, and products branded with the telehealth company's name in a way that implies it is the compounder. Our reading: never present a compounded drug as the branded one, and never imply you compounded it.

    Affects:
    GLP-1 / medical weight loss
    Official source:
    FDA press announcement, March 3, 2026 · read October 5, 2026

  12. DEA

    DEA and HHS extend telemedicine prescribing of controlled medications through 2026

    What changed, our reading

    The fourth temporary extension (Federal Register document 2025-24123) keeps the telemedicine flexibilities for prescribing controlled medications in place from January 1 through December 31, 2026. It changes no ad platform rule. Controlled substances still can't be advertised as products.

    Affects:
    Mental health / psychiatry / ADHD · Ketamine / psychedelic therapy · TRT / men's health
    Official source:
    Federal Register 2025-24123 · read October 5, 2026

  13. Google

    Google: false details in advertiser verification count as circumventing systems

    What changed, our reading

    Google added an example to its Circumventing systems policy: submitting false or fraudulent information through its verification programs violates the policy and leads to account suspension. Google says enforcement is unchanged. Our reading: verify once, with documents that match the business exactly.

    Affects:
    All healthcare advertisers
    Official source:
    Google: Circumventing systems update (November 2025) · read October 5, 2026

  14. Google

    Google lets US ads name prescription drugs without certification; keywords still need it

    What changed, our reading

    Google's words: "While you don't need to be certified in order to use prescription drug terms in ads and landing pages, you must be certified in order to keyword-target these terms." Certification is still required for online pharmacies, telemedicine providers and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Enforcement began October 29, 2025. Our reading: an in-person clinic can name semaglutide in a US ad and on its landing page, but can't keyword-target it without certification. A telehealth prescriber still needs certification.

    Affects:
    GLP-1 / medical weight loss · TRT / men's health · Hair loss / ED telehealth · Ketamine / psychedelic therapy · Med spa / aesthetics · Telemedicine

Your ads, against today's rules

Find out what these changes mean for your account.

The free growth audit reads your ads, landing pages and tracking against the current Meta, Google and TikTok rules, then gives you a written plan for more patients from paid.

Get a free growth audit

How we keep this log

An entry goes in only after we read the change on the official page, and each one shows the date we read it. When a change moves what a platform allows for a vertical, we update that vertical's page and the answers that cover it.

Compare Meta, Google and TikTokCheck an ad against the current rules

Growth audit

See where your growth is leaking.

We audit the ads, the landing pages, the tracking and the compliance posture, then hand you the roadmap. The people writing it have run the same funnel from the inside. You keep it whether or not we work together.

Book the audit
Account already restricted? Start a rescueLaunching a new brand? Plan your telehealth launch
Reviewed
Funnel, tracking, and compliance posture
Discussed
One 30-minute call with the operator on your account
Delivered
A written roadmap within 5 business days