Facebook puts block on ads for Ireland’s abortion referendum
SOCIAL media giant Facebook has announced it will no longer be accepting ads related to the abortion referendum in the Republic of Ireland from outside the country.
The company have said that concerns had been raised about organisations outside the country trying to reference the upcoming referendum.
Citizens of the Republic of Ireland will be asked on May 25 whether they want to repeal the Eighth Amendment of the country’s Constitution, a provision that makes abortion illegal in all but exceptional circumstances.
If the public votes to repeal the constitutional provision, the Irish government intends to table legislation that would permit women to abort within 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Facebook has come under pressure in recent months over claims that Russian-backed advertising helped Donald Trump win the US Presidency.
They also came under fire after Cambridge Analytica, which
worked on Donald Trump’s US election campaign and the Brexit campaign, sustained severe criticism over its gathering of data from millions of Facebook profiles to target users with personalised adverts.
The political analysis firm declared bankruptcy last week, claiming the coverage of the scandal has driven away customers and made the business unviable.
Last month, Facebook’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified to a joint hearing of the Commerce and Judiciary Committees of the US Senate about the use of Facebook data to target American voters in the 2016 election.
The company said it will no longer allow advertising linked to the abortion referendum from outside the Republic “as part of our efforts to help protect the integrity of elections and referendums from undue influence”.
They have created “additional election integrity tools” and “ads transparency tools” which have been fast-tracked into operation in the Republic.
However, the company said it does not intend to block campaigns and advocacy organisations in the Republic from using service providers outside the country.
“We understand the sensitivity of this campaign and will be working hard to ensure neutrality at all stages,” a Facebook spokesperson said.
“We are an open platform for people to express ideas and views on both sides of a debate.
“Our goal is simple: to help ensure a free, fair and transparent vote on this important issue.”