Tech giant Facebook has announced that it plans to stop running political ads immediately after the election on November 3. The company claims the move is necessary “to reduce opportunities for confusion or abuse.”
Facebook announced this week that it will stop running political ads in the United States after polls close for the 2020 election on November 3 and will keep the halt in place for an indefinite period of time. The company stated in a blog post: “While ads are an important way to express voice, we plan to temporarily stop running all social issue, electoral, or political ads in the U.S. after the polls close on November 3, to reduce opportunities for confusion or abuse. We will notify advertisers when this policy is lifted.”
The political ad ban is expected to last about one week but that could change. Sarah Schiff, Facebook’s product lead for political advertising told reporters in a recent call: “We know this election will be unlike any other. We are continuing to build on efforts that promote authoritative information about the election.”
Facebook previously announced plans to block new political ads running seven days before the November election. The company has also announced that it will not allow any ads that seek to delegitimize the results of the election.
Facebook also announced on Wednesday that it will “remove calls for people to engage in poll watching when those calls use militarized language or suggest that the goal is to intimidate, exert control, or display power over election officials or voters.” Facebook stated that this would include terms such as “army” or “battle.”
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com
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