Meta explores ban on political ads in Europe

Meta Platforms Inc executives are considering a company-wide ban of political advertising in Europe. This is due to fears that Facebook and Instagram may not be able to comply with upcoming EU regulations affecting online campaigns, the Financial Times reported Thursday (30 March).

In February, EU legislators agreed to tighter rules for targeted political advertising. This is in response to misinformation during elections. These rules will require U.S. tech companies to disclose more information about their targeted political ads. For breaches, fines of up to 4% could be imposed on them.

Meta executives fear that the EU’s definition of political ads will be too broad, making it easier to reject all paid-for campaigns. The newspaper cited two people who were briefed about the discussions.

Last December , the European Commission warned Facebook parent Meta it was violating EU antitrust law by distorting competition on online classified advertising markets and abusing its dominant status.