Overview

• Meta will suspend all paid social, electoral and political ads on Facebook and Instagram across the EU from October while still allowing organic political content.
• The decision directly responds to the EU’s Regulation 2024/900, which took effect in March and imposes strict requirements on labelling, sponsor disclosure and use of sensitive personal data.
• Under the new rules, platforms must retain political ad records for seven years and face fines of up to 6% of global revenue for noncompliance.
• Google exited EU political ad sales in late 2024, illustrating the wider tech industry’s struggle to meet the bloc’s stringent transparency standards.
• Meta clarified that the pause applies only within the EU and that it will continue offering full political advertising tools in other regions.