WASHINGTON:
Facebook Inc is tightening its political ad rules in the United States, it said
on Wednesday, requiring new disclosures for its site and photo-sharing platform
Instagram ahead of the US presidential election in November 2020. The social
media giant is introducing a "confirmed organization" label for US
political advertisers who show government-issued credentials to demonstrate
their legitimacy. All advertisers running ads on politics or social issues will
also have to post their contact information, even if they are not seeking the
official label.

Advertisers must
comply by mid-October or risk having their ads cut off. Under scrutiny from
regulators since Russia used social media platforms to meddle in the 2016 US
presidential election, Facebook has been rolling out ad transparency tools
country by country since last year. Since May 2018, Facebook has required
political advertisers in the United States to put a "paid for by"
disclaimer on their ads. But the company said some had used misleading
disclaimers or tried to register as organizations which did not exist.

"In 2018 we
did see evidence of misuse in these disclaimers and so this is our effort to
strengthen the process," said Sarah Schiff, product manager at Facebook.
Last year, Vice News journalists managed to place ads on behalf of figures and
groups including US Vice President Mike Pence and "Islamic State."
Just last week, Facebook banned conservative news outlet The Epoch Times from
advertising on the platform after it used different pages to push pro-Trump
ads. Paid Facebook ads have become a major tool for political campaigns and
other organizations to target voters.

President Donald
Trump's re-election campaign has spent about $9.6 million this year on ads on
the site, making him the top spender among 2020 candidates, according to Bully
Pulpit Interactive, a Democratic firm that tracks digital ad spending. Last
year, Facebook began requiring political advertisers to submit a US mailing
address and identity document. Under the new rules, they will also have to
supply a phone number, business email and website.

To get a
"confirmed organization" label, advertisers must submit a Federal
Election Commission ID number, tax-registered organization ID number, or
government website domain matching an official email. Facebook has continuously
revamped its policies around political advertising, which differ by country. In
2018, it launched an online library of political ads, although the database has
been criticized by researchers for being poorly maintained and failing to
provide useful ad targeting information.- Reuters