Facebook and Alphabet Inc’s Google have little choice but to rein in internet political ads in the face of growing US government pressure, a panel of advertising consultants and executives said on Monday.
Speaking at a trade conference, the marketers seized on allegations that Russian operatives bought US political ads on Facebook as evidence that the sector cannot go on being unregulated.
“I think there will be more scrutiny, and there better be more self-regulation. Otherwise, I think regulation will be coming,” Brent McGoldrick, a political ad consultant and a Republican, said at Advertising Week New York.
Last week, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg vowed to do more to deter governments from using Facebook to manipulate elections in other countries, after the company disclosed $100,000 in Russian ad purchases in the months before and after the 2016 US presidential election.
The 3,000 ads included some that highlighted support for Democrat Hillary Clinton among Muslim women, as well as others that showed a deep understanding of US social divides, the Washington Post reported on Monday.
Facebook shares ended down 4.5 per cent on Monday, closing at $162.87, as some investors worried the tech sector had become too expensive.
