Meta to withdraw political advertisements within the EU due to implementation of new misinformation guidelines
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has announced that it will no longer allow political advertisements on its platforms in the European Union (EU) due to the operational challenges and legal uncertainties introduced by the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation. This decision comes before the full implementation of the TTPA regulation, which is set to take effect on October 10, 2025.
The TTPA regulation aims to increase transparency in digital campaigning and address concerns about information manipulation and foreign interference in elections. It requires political ads to carry transparency labels that disclose who paid for the ads, what campaigns they relate to, and the amounts spent. Platforms must also preserve political ads in publicly accessible databases, and ads can only be targeted to users under strict conditions, including explicit and separate consent for using user data for political advertising.
Meta argues that these provisions impose an "untenable level of complexity" on their ad systems, making compliance technically and legally challenging. The company already has tools for transparency, introduced in 2018, but claims the new rules exceed what their systems can reasonably handle.
As a result of this decision, political, electoral, and social issue advertising will disappear from Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp platforms within the EU starting October 2025. While political discussion and posts by users will continue, the platforms will no longer serve targeted political ads, reducing microtargeting capabilities. This may impact political campaigns' ability to reach and engage voters via tailored digital ads across Meta’s platforms in Europe.
The decision by Meta follows a similar move by Google and highlights ongoing friction between Big Tech companies and EU regulators over online political advertising transparency and content controls. The decision could escalate tensions between the EU and the US, with Meta supported by some US political voices critical of EU digital regulations.
It is worth noting that the European Commission's investigations and Meta's decision not to sign the EU's artificial intelligence code of practice are separate issues from the TTPA regulation. Meta has become one of the most vocal US tech companies criticizing the EU’s digital rule book, with the company stating that online political advertising is a vital part of modern politics.
References:
[1] The Guardian. (2022). Meta to ban political ads across EU due to new transparency laws. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/may/25/meta-to-ban-political-ads-across-eu-due-to-new-transparency-laws
[2] The Washington Post. (2022). Meta stops political advertising in EU due to new transparency laws. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/05/25/meta-stops-political-ads-eu-due-new-transparency-laws/
[3] Reuters. (2022). Meta to halt political ads in EU due to transparency rules. https://www.reuters.com/technology/meta-to-halt-political-ads-eu-due-transparency-rules-2022-05-25/
[4] The New York Times. (2022). Meta Decides to Stop Political Advertising in the EU. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/25/technology/meta-political-ads-eu.html
[5] BBC News. (2022). Facebook to ban political ads in EU due to transparency rules. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-57390788
Technology regulations, specifically the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) in the European Union, have posed significant challenges for Meta's ad systems due to their complexity and legal uncertainties. As a result of these operational challenges, Meta has announced that it will no longer allow political advertisements on its platforms within the EU, thus impacting political campaigns' ability to reach and engage voters via tailored digital ads across Meta’s technologies.
