Facebook eyes temporary political ad ban
Moratorium would mark a striking departure from social network’s policy
Facebook executives are considering a temporary ban on political advertising in the final days before the US election in November as the company continues to grapple with a large advertising boycott, employee unrest and other issues related to its policies related to hate speech and misinformation, according to two people familiar with the company’s thinking.
The people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the discussions have not yet reached the senior executive levels of the company, and no final decision has been made amid intense internal debate.
Parties oppose idea
Both Democratic and Republican campaign officials have opposed this idea in the past, and President Donald Trump has blasted Facebook and other technology companies when they have considered curbs on what he can say on their platforms.
But should Facebook impose a temporary moratorium on political advertising, it would mark a striking departure from its policy, announced last year, to allow such a freewheeling approach to campaign-related speech that politicians were free to lie without fear of being subject to the company’s network of fact-checkers.
Facebook spokesman Andy Stone declined to comment on the internal discussions regarding political advertising at Facebook, but he did not deny a report on the subject by Bloomberg News Friday afternoon.
News of the internal discussions generated immediate waves, including from those who thought it was a bad idea.
Alex Stamos, the former chief security officer at Facebook, tweeted, “Political ads are a tiny part of FB’s revenue and a huge” hassle for the company. But he added, “Eliminating online political ads only benefits those with money, incumbency or the ability to get media coverage.”