Meta announced Wednesday that it will no longer accept political, election, or social issue ads in the European Union, blaming the bloc’s new regulations requiring full transparency in digital campaigning as “unworkable.”
The new rules require social media platforms to label political ads with detailed information about funding sources and political affiliations, a move Meta said posed “significant operational challenges and legal uncertainties.”
The regulation is part of a wider effort by Brussels to protect the electoral process by limiting online disinformation and foreign interference. Meta’s response reflects a broader clash: Big Tech and the Trump administration see EU oversight as heavy-handed and antagonistic, with US president Donald Trump brandishing tariff threats to push back against the bloc’s digital regulations.