In a move that ends the prohibition which started after the general election in November 2020, Facebook announced that it is lifting its self-imposed ban on political ads, Thursday.
Facebook Announces Lifting of Ban on Political Ads
Facebook's ban on political ads has remained active for several months since November. The lifting of the said ban comes just a week after Google announced that it would also allow the return of political ads on its platforms.
The move both by Facebook and Google is a significant development in the field of digital politics. This happened after months of on and off policy changes from the tech giant which largely affected fundraising programs for political parties as well as their campaign strategies.
The ban on political ads was imposed by Facebook and Google in efforts to curb misinformation. Both companies have reportedly earned more than $3 billion in political spending just in the 2020 election cycle.
The restriction on the ads, however, extended months after the campaign and even during Biden's first months in the administration. It was only partially lifted in early January before the Georgia Senate runoff, Politico reported.
Just last week, Google had made the announcement that it would be lifting its ban on political ads, which the company reimposed in the aftermath of the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6. According to several sources who have knowledge of the announcements, the top political advisers were informed by the platform by phone on Wednesday. Moreover, clients were also sent an email announcing the changes on the same day and were told that their ads could start airing as early as Thursday, as per POLITICO.
Many digital strategies were against Facebook's ban on political ads in the past several months. Strategists from both parties stated that the move cut off one of the largest pipelines to gaining potential supporters who fuel organizing across the country as well as their fundraising activities, The New York Times reported.
Moreover, the strategists stated that the ban froze out candidates and groups in a crucial time for fundraising when party candidates and committees could have been able to draft their support on then-President Donald Trump's second impeachment. In addition, there also could have been drafted support for the inauguration, and the start of Biden's administration, which they deem as potentially profitable.
In a statement by Republican Digital consultant Michael Duncan, there is an agreement between the two parties that Facebook poses as a critical, and powerful tool due to the huge number of people that it could reach. Meanwhile, just before Facebook's announcement on lifting its ban on political ads, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released a statement calling the tech giant's ban on political ads, "misguided."
In addition, there was a complaint that Democratic digital strategists regularly circulated, stating that Facebook was punishing the digital advertisers instead of targeting those who release and cause disinformation in their platform. On the other hand, NBC News reported that Facebook did not respond immediately to questions about the timing of the company's decision to lift the ban on political ads.
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