Title : Facebook yet to decide which political advertising rules it will roll out in Australia
link : Facebook yet to decide which political advertising rules it will roll out in Australia
Facebook yet to decide which political advertising rules it will roll out in Australia
Facebook will wait until Australia's federal election date is revealed to decide which, if any, of its planned political advertising restrictions it will roll out in a bid to reduce potential interference.
Key points:
- Australia, Indonesia, Israel and the Philippines among the nations holding key votes this year
- Facebook's directors say they know rules will not be perfect and want ongoing improvements
- Different policies and transparency measures will be developed to reflect local laws after speaking with governments
As the largest social media service in nearly every big country, Facebook since 2016 has become a means for politicians and their adversaries to distribute fake news and other propaganda.
Buying Facebook ads can widen the audience for such material, but some of those influencing efforts may violate election rules and the company's policies.
Under pressure from authorities around the world, Facebook last year introduced several initiatives to increase oversight of political ads.
This year, it will extend some of its political advertising rules and tools for curbing election interference to India, Nigeria, Ukraine and the European Union before significant votes.
Beginning on Wednesday (local time) in Nigeria, only advertisers located in the country will be able to run electoral ads.
The move mirrors a policy unveiled during an Irish referendum last May, said Katie Harbath, Facebook's director of global politics and outreach.
The same policy will take effect in Ukraine in February.
Nigeria holds a presidential election on February 16, while Ukraine will follow on March 31.
In India, where elections are due between April and May, Facebook will place electoral ads in a searchable online library starting in February, according to Rob Leathern, a director of product management at the company.
What about Australia?
Australia, Indonesia, Israel and the Philippines are among the nations holding key votes this year for which Facebook said it is still weighing policies.
Facebook expects to provide more information around plans for Australia's federal election when the date on which it will be held has been announced.
"We're learning from every country," Mr Leathern said.
"We know we're not going to be perfect, but our goal is continuing, ongoing improvement."
Facebook believes that holding the ads in a library for seven years is a key part of fighting interference, he added.
The library will resemble archives brought to the US, Brazil and Britain last year.
The newfound transparency drew some applause from elected officials and campaign accountability groups, but they also criticised Facebook for allowing advertisers in the US to obfuscate their identities.
The Indian archive will contain contact information for some advertising buyers or their official regulatory certificates.
For individuals buying political ads, Facebook said it would ensure their listed name matches government-issued documents.
The European Union would get a version of that authorisation and transparency system ahead of the bloc's parliamentary elections in May, Mr Leathern said.
What is Facebook planning?
The ad hoc approach, with varying policies and transparency depending on the region, reflects local laws and conversations with governments and civil society groups, Ms Harbath said.
That means extra steps to verify identities and locations of political ad buyers in the US and India will not be introduced in every big election this year, Mr Leathern said.
In addition, ad libraries in some countries will not include what the company calls "issue" ads, Mr Leathern said.
Facebook's US archive includes ads about much-debated issues such as climate change and immigration policy, even though they may not directly relate to a ballot measure.
Mr Leathern and Ms Harbath said they hoped to have a set of tools that applies to advertisers globally by the end of June.
"Our goal was to get to a global solution," Ms Harbath said.
"And so, until we can get to that in June, we had to look at the different elections and what we think we can do."
Other Facebook teams remain focused on identifying problematic political behaviour unrelated to ads.
In December, researchers working for a US Senate committee concluded that the Russian Government's Internet Research Agency used social media ads and regular posts on inauthentic accounts to promote then presidential candidate Donald Trump to millions of Americans.
Russia denied the accusation.
Reuters/ABC
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