"Meta to block political advertisements across European Union due to perceived unmanageable regulations"
Meta, the tech conglomerate behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has announced a ban on political, electoral, and social issue advertising across its platforms in the European Union (EU) starting October 10, 2025. This decision stems from the unworkable requirements under the EU's Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation.
The TTPA regulation introduces significant, additional obligations to Meta's processes and systems, creating an untenable level of complexity and legal uncertainty. According to Meta, these requirements are too onerous for advertisers and platforms operating in the EU, and would necessitate altering their ad services to a degree that would make them ineffective.
One of the key problematic requirements is the explicit and separate consent for data use. The TTPA mandates that personal data can only be used for political ad targeting if the data subject has given explicit and separate consent specifically for political advertising purposes. This is stricter than previous rules and adds complexity to ad targeting processes.
Another issue is the enhanced transparency obligations. Platforms must implement much more detailed transparency measures on political ads, including information on how ads were targeted, who funded them, the election or referendum they relate to, and the amounts spent on the ads. These requirements significantly increase operational complexity.
The TTPA also prohibits using certain sensitive personal data for political profiling, such as race, ethnic origin, or political opinions. These limitations further constrain targeting capabilities.
Meta has stated that these provisions impose "an untenable level of complexity and legal uncertainty for advertisers and platforms operating in the EU" and would require altering their ad services to a degree that would make them ineffective for both advertisers and users. As a result, Meta believes it cannot comply with these new rules without compromising the relevance and effectiveness of political ads on its platforms and has opted to ban all political, electoral, and social issue ads in the EU rather than try to implement the mandated changes.
This decision by Meta follows a 200 million euro ($235 million) fine imposed by the EU in April for violating rules on the use of personal data on Facebook and Instagram. The EU's political advertising rules aim to increase transparency in online advertising following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Google has also announced it would prevent political advertising in the EU from October 2025 due to operational challenges and legal uncertainties. The ban will affect Meta's flagship platforms Facebook and Instagram, as well as WhatsApp, which has announced it will be introducing new advertising features.
[1] Meta Platforms Inc. (2022). Meta's Statement on EU's Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) Regulation. [online] Available at: https://about.fb.com/news/2022/03/eu-transparency-targeting-political-ads/
[2] European Commission (2021). Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising Regulation. [online] Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12522-Transparency-and-Targeting-of-Political-Advertising
[3] European Parliament (2021). Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising Regulation. [online] Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislation-in-progress/file-ep-2020-2024/political-advertising-20200226_EN.html
- The TTPA regulation in Europe has introduced additional obligations for tech companies like Meta, causing an unmanageable level of complexity and legal uncertainty.
- One of the major issues with the TTPA is the requirement for explicit and separate consent for data use, making ad targeting processes more complex.
- The TTPA also imposes enhanced transparency obligations on platforms, necessitating detailed information on targeted ads, funding sources, and spending amounts.
- The TTPA also prohibits using certain sensitive personal data for political profiling, thereby constraining targeting capabilities.
- Consequently, Meta has opted to ban all political, electoral, and social issue ads in the EU due to the stringent TTPA regulations, which they believe would compromise the relevance and effectiveness of political ads on their platforms.
