By Foo Yun Chee
Brussels (Reuters) – Meta Platforms said on Friday that it would suppress political, electoral and social advertising on its platform from the beginning of October in the European Union (EU), a decision taken due to legal uncertainties linked to the new rules of the block on political advertising, according to the American group.
This announcement echoes the similar decision taken by Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, last November, and underlines the hostility of large technological companies vis-Ã -vis European rules which aim to limit their power and make them more responsible and transparent.
The European Union has introduced new rules which will apply from October 10 in terms of transparency and targeting of political advertising. The adoption of this new regulation was triggered by concerns concerning disinformation and foreign interference in the elections through the twenty-seven.
European law requires that companies in the information and communication technologies sector clearly label political advertising on their platforms. Companies will also have to indicate who has financed advertising and for what amount, as well as the targeted elections.
In the event of a breach of these obligations, fines of up to 6% of their annual turnover may be imposed on companies.
“From early October 2025, we will no longer allow political, electoral and social advertisements on our platforms in the EU,” said Meta.
“This is a difficult decision, which we have taken in response to the future European regulations on transparency and targeting political advertising (TTPA), which introduces significant operational challenges and legal uncertainties.”
Meta said that EU rules would ultimately harm Europeans.
“We believe that personalized advertisements are essential for a wide range of advertisers, including those involved in campaigns aimed at informing voters about important social issues that shape public discourse,” said Meta.
“Regulations, such as TTPA, considerably compromise our ability to offer these services, which has an impact not only on the effectiveness of awareness of advertisers, but also on the ability of voters to access full information.”
Facebook and Instagram, of the META group, are currently under investigation by the European Commission for their alleged inability to combat disinformation and deceptive advertising before the European Parliament elections in 2024.
The EU’s survey is part of the Digital Services Regulation, which requires large technological companies that they do more to combat illegal and detrimental content on their platforms.
Tiktok, property of Bytedance, is also in the EU crosshairs for his alleged inability to combat electoral interference, especially during the Romanian presidential election last November.
(Written by Foo Yun Chee, Etienne Breban, edited by Kate Entringer)
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