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Meta to halt political, social ads in Europe from October, cites EU laws
The move follows a similar decision by Google's parent Alphabet in late 2023, highlighting growing resistance from Big Tech to the European Union's tightening grip on digital political advertising.
The law mandates that platforms clearly label political ads, disclose funders, expenditure, and targeting specifics - or risk fines up to 6% of their annual turnover.
Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced it will halt all political, electoral, and social issue advertising across the European Union starting early October 2025.
The big tech company cited "significant operational challenges and legal uncertainties" posed by new EU legislation as the key reason, Reuters reported.
The move follows a similar decision by Google's parent Alphabet in late 2023, highlighting growing resistance from Big Tech to the European Union's tightening grip on digital political advertising.
At the core of the clash is the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation - a sweeping new law aimed at curbing disinformation, foreign interference,, and untraceable influence campaigns ahead of key elections in the 27-member bloc.
Set to take effect on October 10, the law mandates that platforms clearly label political ads, disclose funders, expenditure, and targeting specifics - or risk fines up to 6% of their annual turnover, the report added.
In a blog post published Friday, Meta said: “From early October 2025, we will no longer allow political, electoral, and social issue ads on our platforms in the EU. This is a difficult decision - one we've taken in response to the EU's incoming Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation, which introduces significant operational challenges and legal uncertainties.”
The company warned that the complexity of compliance under the new rules is not only burdensome for platforms, but also potentially detrimental to public engagement.
Meta argued that personalised political ads play a vital role in educating voters about social issues and policies that shape public discourse. The blanket restriction, it said, could ultimately leave Europe less informed.
According to the report, the European Commission, however, maintains that the TTPA is designed to make political influence campaigns more transparent, traceable, and fair, especially in a volatile digital environment where misinformation can spread rapidly and unchecked.
With both Meta and Google now exiting the political ad space in the EU, political parties, issue-based campaigns, and now advocacy groups may have to rethink digital strategies ahead of crucial electoral cycles - including the 2026 European Parliament elections, the report added.
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