Facebook and Instagram parent Meta announced Friday that it would shut down all political ads in the European Union by October, attributing legal ambiguity regarding new legislation aimed at enhancing transparency during election campaigns.
The social media giant announced in a blog post that it will no longer permit ads for political, electoral and social causes on its platforms, which also include Threads, from early October.
The company said it was making the decision because of the 27-nation EU's “unworkable” Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising regulations.
The rules introduce “significant operational challenges and legal uncertainties," Meta said.
It's not the first Big Tech firm to do so. Google announced a year ago that it would no longer serve EU users political ads ahead of the rules coming into force, in a statement that gave similar reasons.
Under the rules, due to be implemented on Oct 10, sites will have to tag political adverts, stating who funded them, and which campaign, referendum or legislative process they relate to. Ads will have to be stored in a database, and they can only be addressed to users under very specific conditions.
The rules introduce “significant, additional obligations to our processes and systems that create an untenable level of complexity and legal uncertainty for advertisers and platforms operating in the EU,” Meta said.
Offences can be fined up to 6% of an annual global turnover of a company.
The regulations are one aspect of Brussels' broader campaign to push back against foreign interference and manipulation in elections, and complement the bloc's other rules aimed at safeguarding citizens' privacy and making platforms more responsible for keeping internet users safe online. But they run counter to President Donald Trump's administration, which has attacked the EU's digital regulation-making.
Meta said its decision won't affect users who want to debate politics on its platforms or prevent politicians, candidates and officer holders from "sharing political content organically".
“They just won't be able to amplify this through paid advertising,” it said.
