Political ads are making their way back on Facebook. The platform announced that all ad campaigns related to political or social issues can resume on March 4, 2021.
Political Ads Make a Comeback on Facebook
Facebook posted an update on the Facebook for Business blog and stated that political, electoral, and social issue ads can start running once again. The platform put a limit on political ads right before the 2020 US presidential election, and then banned political ads altogether following the election.
“We put this temporary ban in place after the November 2020 election to avoid confusion or abuse following Election Day. Unlike other platforms, we require authorization and transparency not just for political and electoral ads, but also for social issue ads,” Facebook noted in the post.
The platform also stated that it will continue to monitor political ads in the coming months, and it will “see where further changes may be merited.”
Should Political Ads Be Permanently Banned?
Political ads have been a controversial subject on Facebook. And although the platform does allow users to turn off political ads, it might be best to ban political ads permanently.
Political and social ad campaigns can help spread the word about an election or an ongoing issue, but they sometimes do more harm than good.