Facebook’s ban on political ads leading up to the 2020 U.S. presidential election was a major policy change for the social media giant. The company faced intense scrutiny over its handling of political advertising on its platform during the 2016 election. In response, Facebook implemented new restrictions on political ads in late 2019, before fully banning new political ads in the week before the 2020 election.
The Build Up to Facebook’s Political Ad Ban
In the aftermath of the 2016 election, Facebook acknowledged that its platform was used by foreign actors to spread disinformation and sow division among voters. This raised concerns about the power and influence of Facebook over the political process.
Leading up to the 2020 election, Facebook implemented several changes to how it handles political advertising:
- In 2018, Facebook began requiring political advertisers to go through an authorization process and include “Paid for by” disclaimers.
- In 2019, Facebook added transparency features to its Ad Library so users could see more information about political ad spend and targeting.
- In late 2019, Facebook stopped allowing political advertisers to target ads using custom audiences.
However, many felt these measures did not go far enough. Facebook continued to face backlash for its controversial policy of not fact-checking political ads.
The 2020 Political Ad Ban
On September 3, 2019, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a series of new steps the company would take to protect elections, including new limits on political advertising:
Starting in September 2019, Facebook will block new political and issue ads during the final week of campaigning before an election. The restriction will lift the day after the election and will apply to ads nationwide from federal races down to the local level.
Facebook chose the timeframe of one week as a reasonable balance between allowing political speech and reducing last-minute pressures that could undermine the political process. This political ad “blackout” took effect beginning on November 3, 2020, the week before Election Day.
What Did the Ban Restrict?
During the blackout period in the week before Election Day 2020:
- No new political or issue ads could run on Facebook or Instagram.
- Advertisers could not change the budget amounts for existing ads.
- No changes could be made to existing ads unless the changes were to the creative or audience.
The ban applied to ads about any electoral or political issues, even non-electoral issues like immigration policy or protests.
What Was Still Allowed
While new political ads were banned during the blackout period, some advertising was still permitted:
- Ads that began running before the blackout period were allowed to continue running.
- Existing advertisers could change the creative or audience targeting for their ads.
- Get-out-the-vote campaigns and election reminders could still run.
- Ads for candidates and political parties were allowed if they encouraged people to vote.
Facebook maintained that it did not want to hinder voter outreach efforts or suppress important political speech in the final days before an election.
Reaction to the Political Ad Ban
Facebook’s temporary ban on new political ads proved controversial:
- Some critics argued the ban came too late and did not go far enough. They felt all political advertising on Facebook should be permanently banned.
- Others raised concerns about the ban restricting free speech and campaigns’ abilities to reach voters at the last minute.
- Some candidates and digital strategists complained about lack of clarity around what content was allowed or prohibited.
Nonetheless, Facebook proceeded with implementing the political ad blackout period in the week before the November 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Long-Term Policy on Political Ads
While Facebook’s pre-2020 election political ad ban was temporary, the company did announce some permanent changes to how it handles political ads going forward:
- In late 2019, Facebook began requiring advertisers to go through an authorization process before being able to run political or issue ads.
- Greater transparency requirements including thorough documentation of who is behind political ads.
- Adding labels on political ads across Facebook and Instagram.
- Continuing to block political ads for people in foreign countries.
However, Facebook ultimately decided not to ban political ads altogether. Mark Zuckerberg has defended this decision as a matter of free expression, allowing politicians’ messages to spread even if controversial.
Criticism and Analysis of Political Ad Policy
Facebook continues to face criticism over its political advertising policies. Here are some of the ongoing debates around the role Facebook should play:
Spread of Misinformation
Critics argue that Facebook’s fact checking exemptions for politicians allow the spread of lies and misinformation through political ads. But Facebook maintains that it’s not appropriate for them to police political speech.
Microtargeting
Facebook offers sophisticated targeting options for political advertisers to narrowcast messages to very specific groups. But microtargeting makes it difficult to track and analyze political messaging.
Partisanship
Some charge that Facebook’s policies favor conservative voices over liberal ones or vice versa. Questions have arisen over whether banning political ads would disproportionately hurt certain parties’ messaging and voter outreach.
Role in Electoral Process
Debate continues over tech companies’ role and responsibilities when it comes to elections. Critics argue Facebook is shirking its duties, while Facebook maintains that government regulation may be needed.
The Future of Online Political Advertising
Going forward, a few possibilities exist for how Facebook may further evolve its policies toward political ads:
- Comprehensive ban – Facebook may still opt to permanently ban political ads altogether in the future, if public pressure mounts.
- Increased restrictions – More incremental policy changes are likely, limiting targeting abilities or reducing transparency.
- Independent oversight – Facebook may agree to external oversight or fact-checking of political ads to appease critics.
- Government regulation – If policies remain stagnant, demand could increase for lawmakers to step in and regulate online political ads.
Facebook is proceeding cautiously for now, wary of accusations of anti-conservative bias and over-regulation of free speech. But with political advertising playing an increasingly central role each election, Facebook will remain in the spotlight.
Conclusion
Facebook’s temporary ban of new political ads in the week before the 2020 election represented a major shift in policy for the company. While Facebook had faced growing criticism, limiting political speech remains a thorny issue fraught with free speech implications. Facebook continues to face scrutiny across the political spectrum as lawmakers and the public demand more accountability for how tech platforms handle political messaging. The short-term ad ban was only one phase in the ongoing debate over technology’s role in elections.