Meta, a U.S. big tech corporation that operates Facebook and Instagram, announced that it will completely suspend political and election-related advertisements across the European Union (EU). The decision comes in response to the new political advertising regulations from the EU, which will take effect in October and are deemed excessively complex and fraught with legal uncertainty.
According to foreign media outlets including the New York Times (NYT), Meta released a statement on the 25th (local time), saying, "We will no longer place advertisements related to politics, elections, or social issues on our platforms like Facebook and Instagram." This measure is set to be implemented simultaneously in all 27 EU member countries starting in October.
This decision is directly linked to the 'Regulation on the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA),' which will come into full effect on October 10. This regulation aims to block foreign interference and the spread of misinformation during election processes and mandates disclosure of key information such as ▲ advertisement sponsors ▲ relevant elections ▲ expenditure details ▲ targeting methods. In particular, it prohibits political advertising from external sponsors outside the EU starting three months before elections and referendums.
However, this measure does not ban political content itself. According to Meta, parties, candidates, and civic groups can still freely post and share political-related posts through their accounts or pages after October. However, it will no longer be possible to artificially expand the reach of these posts through paid advertising—a practice referred to as "amplification."
Nevertheless, there are concerns that the EU's comprehensive definition of "political advertising" could actually dampen the expression of political content. Previously, Google also announced in November of last year that it would halt political advertising in the EU for the same reasons.
Meta has stated that the regulation is overly complex and open to interpretation, imposing burdens on both advertisers and platforms. In the statement, Meta noted, "Despite extensive discussions and consultations, we had no choice but to make the difficult decision to halt advertisements," adding that maintaining political advertising in Europe is challenging due to "unworkable" requirements and legal uncertainties.
The EU has been continuously tightening regulations on Meta. According to the NYT, the EU imposed a penalty surcharge of approximately $1.3 billion (about 1.8 trillion won) on Meta last year regarding user data processing practices, and in April this year, an additional fine of $230 million (approximately 317.8 billion won) was levied for antitrust violations.
In particular, EU authorities have pointed out that Meta has not established sufficient measures to counter the spread of misinformation. In response, Meta stated, "We are already operating a strict advertisement review system and a misinformation monitoring system," countering the claims.
Meta appears to be in constant conflict with the EU's stringent regulatory stance. Earlier, Meta announced that it would not sign the regulations on general artificial intelligence (AI) models that will take effect next month. The European Commission passed the so-called 'AI Act' last year, which aims to ensure the transparency and safety of AI technologies. As a result, each corporation is to present a final set of guidelines for general AI models, but Meta is pushing back against this.
Joel Kaplan, Meta's Global Policy Chief, has publicly criticized, saying, "Europe is heading in the wrong direction on AI" and that it is providing legal uncertainty for AI model developers.