Meta Weighs Political Ad Ban In Wake Of Tougher EU Regulations

• Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META) is weighing a company-wide ban on political advertising in Europe.

• The ban follows concerns over its social networking platforms like Facebook and Instagram failing to comply with forthcoming EU regulations that target online campaigning, Financial Times reports.

• CEO Mark Zuckerberg is concerned that the definition of political ads under the plan will be so broad that it will be easier to refuse all paid-for political campaigns on the company’s sites.

• Also, users were largely uninterested in such content, and revenues generated from political ads are small compared with its broader business.

• Between 2019 and 2020, Meta earned under $800 million in revenue from political advertising in the U.S., according to Insider Intelligence, less than 1% of its total advertising revenue over the period.

• In the wake of the U.S. 2016 election, social media platforms faced flak for failing to clamp down on misinformation and conspiracies.

• Zuckerberg has refused to fact-check political advertising.

• Under the EU proposals, platforms like Facebook and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google will have to raise transparency for carrying political advertising, like showing how much ads cost, who paid them, and how many people viewed the content.

• One EU official aware of Meta’s internal discussions claimed that Meta’s move aimed to put pressure on the EU to narrow its definition of political advertising.

• Price Action: META shares traded higher by 0.14% at $205.63 premarket on the last check Friday.

• Photo via Wikimedia Commons

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