CIVICUS discusses Facebook owner Meta’s political ad ban and the European Union (EU)’s regulations with Anna Sienicka, Senior Vice President at TechSoup Europe. TechSoup is an international network that helps grassroots, nonprofit, small and local organisations develop their capacity so they can benefit from technology and make social change.
The EU adopted its Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation in March 2024 with the intention of safeguarding democratic processes from disinformation. The regulation’s broad definition of ‘political advertising’ risks treating advocacy campaigns the same as electoral propaganda. Meta’s response has been to impose a complete ban on political and social issue advertising across the EU, citing implementation challenges. This sweeping approach threatens to silence legitimate civil society activity.