Press Releases We’d Like to See: Facebook Announces Political Advertising Blackout for 2020 US Presidential Election
MENLO PARK, Calif. – September 9, 2019 – Facebook, Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) today announced the company will not accept political advertising in the United States between February 17, 2020 (President’s Day) and November 3, 2020 (Election Day). The moratorium on advertising for political candidates and issues applies to all parties and perspectives, and extends across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
“Despite our extensive efforts to require registration by advertisers, deploy armies of human reviewers, and place great hopes in new artificial intelligence techniques, it simply isn’t enough to safeguard the electoral process,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO. “Democracy is too vital to move fast, break things, and apologize later.”
This new policy does not impact the expression of political speech by Facebook users, as they retain the ability to post and share political views under existing content moderation standards. The policy will be extended to elections in other countries as needed to protect electoral integrity. Facebook will provide updated earnings guidance reflecting the impact of this new policy at its next quarterly earnings announcement.
About Facebook
Founded in 2004, Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together, particularly with Russia. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them.