Nov 1, 2019 - Technology

Facebook and Google's past show banning political ads is hard work

Ina Fried

Photo: ALASTAIR PIKE/AFP via Getty Images

Even if it proves to be the right thing to do, implementing a ban on political ads is no easy task, as the major platforms have found out in Washington state. As The Verge reports, Facebook and Google opted to ban ads there rather than comply with the state's strict campaign finance laws, but have found even that to be difficult.

Why it matters: The experiences of Facebook and Google in Washington state could foreshadow the work Twitter will have to implement its promised ban on political advertising, which starts next month.

For example, one Seattle City Council candidate managed to run some ads on Facebook, while her rival was blocked entirely.

Meanwhile: One of Facebook's fact-checking partners has proposed a potential solution for the company's dilemma. As CNN reports, Lead Stories plans to propose to Facebook next week a set-up in which politicians submit their ads for fact-checking and those fact-checks would be subject to review by a blue-ribbon, nonpartisan panel.

Go deeper: Twitter casts itself as the anti-Facebook

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Facebook and Google's past show banning political ads is hard work

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