Meta has decided to halt all political advertising in the European Union by October, citing regulatory uncertainties stemming from new rules intended to enhance transparency in electoral campaigns.

This was reported by AP.

The social media giant stated that starting in October, it will no longer permit advertisements related to political, electoral, and social issues on its platforms, including Threads.

Meta explained that the decision was made due to the "ineffective" EU rules regarding transparency and targeting of political ads.

According to Meta, these rules present "significant operational challenges and legal uncertainties".

This is not the first major tech company to take such steps. Last year, Google announced it would stop showing political ads to users in the EU until these regulations take effect, citing similar concerns.

Under the rules set to take effect on October 10, platforms must label political ads, indicating who paid for them and which campaign, referendum, or legislative process they are associated with. Advertisements must be stored in a database and can only be targeted to users under strict conditions.

"These regulations impose significant additional obligations on our processes and systems, creating an unacceptable level of complexity and legal uncertainty for advertisers and platforms operating in the EU," said Meta.

Violations could result in fines of up to 6% of the company's annual global revenue.

Meta stated that its decision would not affect users who wish to discuss politics on its platforms, nor would it prevent politicians, candidates, and officials from "organically sharing political content".

"They just won’t be able to promote it through paid advertising," the statement concluded.