Yahoo Finance Facebook extends its temporary ban on political ads for another month
The election is settled, but the nation is far from it.
Before Election Day in the U.S., Facebook hit pause on all political and social issue ads. At the time, the company made it clear that the precautionary measure designed to turn off one potential faucet of misinformation would be temporary, but it couldn't say how long the policy would remain in effect.
Now, Facebook says the temporary ban will continue for at least another month. The decision to extend the special policy was implemented Wednesday, four days after Joe Biden's election victory — and four days after it became clear that Trump had no intention of conceding a lost election.
"The temporary pause for ads about politics and social issues in the US continues to be in place as part of our ongoing efforts to protect the election," the company wrote in an update to its previous announcement. "Advertisers can expect this to last another month, though there may be an opportunity to resume these ads sooner."
Facebook's Rob Leathern elaborated on the decision in a series of tweets. "We know that people are disappointed that we can't immediately enable ads for runoff elections in Georgia and elsewhere," Leathern wrote, noting that special election measures would stay in place until the results were certified.
We do not have the technical ability in the short term to enable political ads by state or by advertiser, and we are also committed to giving political advertisers equal access to our tools and services. (4/4)
— Rob Leathern (@robleathern) November 11, 2020
Facebook's ongoing political ad pause throws a wrench into things in Georgia, where two January runoff elections will decide which party will control the Senate heading into President-Elect Biden's administration. A friendly Senate is essential for many of Biden's biggest proposals, including a $2 trillion climate package that could reshape the American economy and push the country toward an electrified future that doesn't rely on fossil fuels.
Over the last few days, a shocking number of Republicans have "humored" the president's refusal to transfer power in spite of an unambiguous election call and Biden's decisive win in Pennsylvania, which cut off any potential paths to victory for his opponent. The Trump campaign's last-ditch flurry of legal challenges have presented little of substance so far, and they might ultimately be more about dividing a nation and sowing doubt than prevailing in court.
