Meta and Google worked on their policies this year to prevent political ads from being out of control. But why the sudden decision?
Why Many Platforms Want to Ban Political Ads
Ahead of midterm elections in the United States, political ads bombard popular platforms such as Google, Facebook, TikTok, and more.
Although some social media consumers believe in misleading information generated by algorithms, a major part of them are starting to grow less persuadable.
In an investment thesis conducted by Higher Ground Labs, "All large technology platforms will limit or outright ban paid political activities," because we see an increased interest in closed, trusted information ecosystems within online communities.
Synonymously from tech giants' perspective, political ads are easier to deal with than they are worth. Meta, formerly Facebook, and Google see little benefit from the ads.
Among major social platforms, Twitter was the first to ban political ads in October 2019. Then-CEO Jack Dorsey believed that 'political-message reach should be earned, not bought.'
Currently, another major platform-TikTok claim it does not allow political ads, but advertisers are getting creative in finding ways to get around this rule.
Then, as of June 2021, Snap is still selling political ads, but it has given users an option to see less political and sensitive content on its apps.
Meta has adhered to its original stance that paid ads are political speech, which deserves protection from fact-checking by technology companies.
The company remains in business with political ads today. But CEO Mark Zuckerberg said this part of the business contributed less than 1% to overall company revenue.
It was reported by Bloomberg's Caroline Hyde in 2019 that Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg believes paid political advertising is "not worth the controversy." Despite this, Meta has yet to withdraw political ads from Facebook.
In 2020, Meta and Google halted the trade for political ads for weeks during election season, fearing that political groups lie about election results or cast doubt on the democratic process.
Around November 2021, Meta says it plans to limit political ads. True to their words, the company has announced that it will no longer allow political advertisers to target ads based on the content their users have viewed on Meta's mobile apps.
However, political advertisers can still advertise lists of supporters by seeking permission from Meta to post them along with their ads.
Following Meta's announcement, Google also placed content restrictions on how political advertisers target advertisements.
Will Meta and Google's Decision be Effective?
Meta and Google both claim they do not allow misinformation about elections in their political ads. Yet none of the companies routinely fact-check political ads, and they each use machine learning algorithms to detect ads that violate the rules.
As Google Spokesperson Michael Aciman explained in an email to Fast Company, they will not look into every political claim, counterclaim, and insinuation. Instead, it is more important to establish more strict policies to ensure all ads on their platform are compliant.
Meta has yet to comment on its restrictions on political ads on its platforms.
Even if the big platforms can sanitize their political ads business, paid political advertisements will again take center stage as the midterm elections approach later this year.
According to Shomik Dutta, co-founder of Higher Ground Labs, being called before Congress has become a much bigger hassle than the monetary benefit at stake for allowing political ads to run on platforms.
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Written by Thea Felicity
