Facebook has issued a cease and desist notice to an Israeli firm that claims to be able to subconsciously alter people's behaviour.

Axar.az informs citing foreign media.

The Spinner charges a fee to "subconsciously influence" targets by exposing them to online posts "disguised as editorial content".

But Facebook has objected to the start-up using its services to achieve this.

And the tech giant has barred the firm and its chief from using Facebook or Instagram for any reason.

In response, the Spinner's co-founder and chief operating officer Elliot Shefler told the BBC that it would continue to sell targeted online campaigns and refused to rule out using Facebook in the future.