Facebook Extends Ban on Political Ads Don't expect Google to lift its marketing embargo before the end of this year, either.
By Stephanie Mlot •
This story originally appeared on PCMag
The 2020 U.S. presidential election is far from over, and social networks aren't taking any chances ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration.
Facebook, which announced last month that it would temporarily stop running political, electoral and social issue ads on Nov. 4, has extended its ban.
"The temporary pause for ads about political and social issues in the U.S. continues to be in place as part of our ongoing efforts to protect the election," according to a Nov. 11 update to the company's initial blog post. "Advertisers can expect this to last another month, though there may be an opportunity to resume these ads sooner."
Rob Leathern, director of product management at Facebook, confirmed the deferment via Twitter, explaining that labels naming former Vice President Joe Biden as the projected winner will remain in place "as that result moves toward certification next month."
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The White House isn't the only 2020 battleground, though. Two Senate seats from Georgia are still up for grabs in a rare double-barreled runoff election slated for early January. But, unfortunately for the candidates and their undecided constituents, Facebook and Instagram won't be helping to plug anyone in the Peach State.
"We know that people are disappointed that we can't immediately enable ads for runoff elections in Georgia and elsewhere," Leathern wrote. "We do not have the technical ability in the short term to enable political ads by state or by advertiser, and we are also committed to giving political advertisers equal access to our tools and services."
Google, meanwhile, has taken a similar approach, warning some advertisers that it's unlikely to lift its own marketing ban before the end of the year, The Wall Street Journal reported.
