Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta is reportedly considering banning company-wide political advertising in Europe amid fears it could struggle to comply with new EU campaign laws.
Lawmakers in Brussels are proposing rules that would force online technology groups including Facebook and Google to disclose information about political ads, including how much they cost, who paid for the content and how many people saw them.
Those proposals have caused concern among Meta executives, who worry about how broad the definition of political ads can be and how difficult it can be to comply with the rules. according to the Financial Times.
Meta, which is run by Mark Zuckerberg, its founder and chief executive, is now considering whether it would be easier to reject all paid political campaign advertising on its platforms to avoid breaking EU laws.
The corporation is among a number of social media companies, including Twitter, which faced criticism for allowing users to spread misinformation and conspiracy theories on their platforms after the 2016 US presidential election, sparking fears about how the content may have manipulated voters.
Facebook, in particular, came under fire after it was discovered that user data had been used by Russian agents that year to rig elections, facts that emerged through the Cambridge Analytical scandal. The now-defunct political consultancy used the data of tens of millions of Facebook users without their consent to help clients target political ads.
While Meta bosses initially resisted pressure to fact-check political advertising, they temporarily suspended campaign ads on their website in the run-up to major elections, including the 2020 US presidential election.
The decision to ban political advertising in the EU would not necessarily have a significant financial impact, as political advertising is said to represent a relatively small proportion of the company’s revenue.
Data compiled by research group Insider Intelligence indicates that political advertising in the US, which is one of Meta’s biggest markets, generated $800m (£650m) in revenue between 2019 and 2020, which which represents less than 1% of total advertising revenue. Goal reported earnings of $29 billion in 2020.
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Meta was contacted for comment.
