Facebook Plans Big Overhaul of Political Ads After Criticism

Facebook, under fire over Russia’s use of its social network to spread pre-election discord in the U.S. last year, pledged a sweeping overhaul of political advertising and said it will give Congress all the evidence it has on the campaigns, according to Bloomberg.

More than 3,000 Facebook ads linked to Russia have already been studied by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating President Donald Trump’s ties to the country. Facebook initially didn’t want to share detailed information like this with Congress, but changed its mind after a lengthy privacy and legal review.

“I don’t want anyone to use our tools to undermine democracy,“ CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a video on Facebook. “That’s not what we stand for. The integrity of elections is fundamental to democracy around the world.“ Many Facebook ads are purchased through a self-service system, which doesn’t require interaction with a salesperson. Zuckerberg said that while it would be impossible to totally eliminate abuse of the system, Facebook can make it much more difficult for bad actors to be effective.

He said he will add 250 employees to work on election integrity and make political ads on Facebook more transparent. For example, users will be able to visit an advertiser’s page and see all the other political ads they’re running to other audiences on the social network. Meanwhile, the company will work more closely with election officials and other technology companies to share information on any troubling marketing campaigns.

The company’s response comes after widespread criticism, especially from Democrats, about the company’s lack of transparency and cooperation. Some have called for tighter rules or regulation of online election ads, a threat that Facebook may avoid if it satisfies lawmakers by regulating itself.

Zuckerberg noted that Facebook’s investigation into pre-election meddling by Russia isn’t over. The company is looking at other potential avenues of manipulation, including by looking at posts that originated from former Soviet states and other foreign actors. The company said Congress should decide how much to tell the public about what the ads from last year contained.