Facebook's political ad exemption policy is a danger to our democracy

Facebook's hands-off policy toward political ads poses a danger to our democracy. Giving politicians free rein to spread lies using political ads shows a disregard for the role Facebook and other social media platforms play in disseminating information to voters and how political candidates can abuse these policies to spread disinformation. First, it's important to understand the unique role Facebook and other social media platforms play when it comes to advertising. Facebook's business model is based on collecting as much data on its users as possible. It then shares relevant data points, including users' demographic information, with advertisers for targeted advertising. This means political candidates can target their ads to vulnerable communities who may be more receptive to false or misleading statements. This is inherently different from political ads aired on traditional media (broadcast stations or cable networks) where the entire viewing audience can see the ad. Second, Facebook believes its ad exemption policy allows it to remain neutral when it comes to political advertising. But Facebook is not a content-neutral platform. That is to say, Facebook displays content to its users based on algorithms that optimize for engagement. With the 2020 election around the corner, Facebook's exemption policy invites politicians to imitate Russia's disinformation playbook to undermine our elections and put our democracy at risk.

[Yosef Getachew is the Media & Democracy program director at Common Cause.]