I’ve written a fair amount over the past year about the problems social media companies face with regard to elections and political posts. You can find examples here, here and here.

In short, the argument is that these companies are massively powerful and can have a huge influence on elections. They have chosen different paths with Twitter banning political adverts, Google restricting the targeting that is allowed for such adverts and Facebook regarding the matter as one of free speech and therefore not really making any changes. Plus there is the problem that all companies are working on the basis of a single worldwide policy which pays no regard to the individual laws that might be applicable in the different countries they operate in.

There have been a few updates in recent weeks:

• Wired has an article which explains the new Facebook Board, a group of people operating at arms length from the platform who will take the final decision on content moderation. As the article points out, they are almost certain to hear a case on false statements in political adverts and, whilst their rulings don’t automatically set a precedent, it may well be that this is the start of a process that leads to a change in policy.
• Facebook has also updated its political ad library to make it more transparent and given users the option of seeking fewer political adverts in the future.
• This decision is not without its critics. In the US, many political consultants – used to being able to rely on Facebook’s micro-targeting functions – have suggested that the ability of users to limit the political adverts they see could make campaigning harder. They have produced a report, which it seems Facebook is looking closely at, suggesting ways forward. However, as with so many concerns in the past, this is a purely US campaign industry solution which doesn’t take account of worldwide issues.
• Twitter came under fire following a BBC exposé which showed that adverts could be targeted at extreme groups such as neo-Nazis. The platform has pledged to ban such adverts in the future.