Facebook has announced plans to comply with a new Canadian law aimed at preventing foreign interference in elections. There will be a federal election in October 2019 and the social media giant says its “ads transparency tools” will be launched before the end of June 2019.
Users will be able to click for more information
Those who want to run ads that reference political figures, parties, elections or issues of national importance will have to go through an ad authorization process, says a Facebook statement. They will be required to confirm their identities to ensure they are Canadian. They will also have to provide information about who is paying for the ad.
The information will be stored in a searchable online library where people can find out more about the ads they see. They will be saved for seven years.
When viewing an ad on Facebook, Canadian users will be able to click on a “Paid for by…” button to get more information about the advertiser. (iStock)
Prominent Canadians will identify key issues
Facebook has also created a group of prominent Canadian leaders from across the political spectrum to help identify the key issues in the upcoming election. This will help the social medium to flag advertisers who try to circumvent the vetting system.
These measures are designed to help Facebook comply with a law passed by the Canadian government in December 2018 to deal with bad actors who try to manipulate election results or worsen societal divisions. This comes after the scandal over Russian interference in the U.S. presidential contest which was won by Donald Trump and the misuse of personal information of Facebook users during the U.K.’s Brexit referendum.
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