Security News > 2020 > June > Facebook to save US users from ads bought by foreign state-controlled media

Facebook will hide ads bought by state-owned media outlets from its US-based users, as part of its plan "To provide an extra layer of protection against various types of foreign influence in the public debate ahead of the November 2020 election in the US.".

Explained in a post by head of cybersecurity policy Nathaniel Gleicher, the plan will see The Social Network™ apply labels to content from state-controlled media outlets and any ads they buy, then block the ads in the USA anyway.

Which leaves plenty of time for state-owned media to promote dodgy content that legitimate or dodgy Facebook users could propagate deep into the current US election cycle.

Facebook's post details the elaborate process the company has adopted to identify a state-controlled media outlet.

All of which leaves Facebook willing to be the arbiter of whether a media outlet is independent and therefore to deny them the right to reach some audiences, but still unwilling to prevent the publication of political ads containing verifiable falsehoods.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2020/06/05/facebook_state_owned_media_block/