Facebook tightens rules on political ads ahead of EU vote

Facebook Inc toughened its rules on political advertising in Europe on Friday under pressure from EU regulators to do more to guard against foreign meddling in the bloc’s upcoming legislative election. Chastened since Russia used the social media platform to influence polls that swept US President Donald Trump to power, Facebook says it has ploughed resources and staff into safeguarding the ballot across 27 EU nations on May 26.

“I don’t want anyone to be in any doubt that this is a top priority for the company,” Richard Allan, Facebook’s vice president for global policy solutions, told reporters over a video-link to Brussels.

All such ads will be labelled as “paid for”, offering info on who bought it, for how much and how many people have seen it – broken down by age, location and gender.