US election: Meta extends ban on new political ads till later this week

Meta has announced it will extend the ban on new political ads on Facebook and Instagram even after the US presidential election on November 5.

In its political ads policy update, Meta confirmed that the ban on new political ads will be extended beyond Tuesday, the original end date for the restriction period.

“The restriction period for ads about social issues, elections, or politics is being extended until later this week,” said the social media platform.

“As a reminder, ads that have run prior to 12:01 AM PT on October 29, 2024, and served at least one impression will be allowed to continue while the restriction period is in effect with limited editing capabilities,” Meta added.

However, Meta did not specify the exact day when the restriction will be lifted.

The social media giant had announced in August that any political ads that ran at least once before October 29 would still be allowed to run on Meta’s services in the final week before Election Day.

“We previously announced that, as we have since 2020, we will block new social issue, electoral, and political ads during the final week of the general election in the US. While new ads will not be able to run during this restriction period, ads that have served at least one impression prior to the restriction period will be allowed to continue running with limited editing capabilities,” the company elaborated.

The rationale behind this restriction period remains the same as in previous years.

“In the final days of an election, we recognise there may not be enough time to contest new claims made in ads,” said Meta.

“At 12:00 a.m. PT on Wednesday, November 6, we will allow new ads about social issues, elections, or politics to be published. At this time, you will also be able to start making edits to your ads again,” the company informed.