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Meta implements ad restrictions in US for social issues, elections, and politics
The restriction period was also implemented in 2020 for the week leading up to General Election Day.
Nicole Farley on October 18, 2022 at 9:31 am | Reading time: 2 minutes
From 12:01 AM PT on Tuesday, November 1, 2022, through 11:59 PM PT on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, no new ads about social issues, elections, or politics can be published, and most edits will be prohibited.
How it works. To continue running ads during this time period, advertisers in the US must comply with the following guidelines.
- Be set up by an advertiser in the US who has completed the authorization process, which includes providing identification to confirm who they are, confirming that they are located in the US by receiving a code in the mail, and setting up an approved ‘paid for by’ disclaimer
- Have cleared ad review
- Have delivered an impression before Tuesday, November 1 12:01 AM PT
Once the restriction period begins, advertisers can adjust the bid amount, budget amount, and scheduled end date of their ads that require a disclaimer. You can pause or unpause ads as long as those ads served at least one impression before 12:01 AM PT on Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
Key dates and timelines are listed below.
What is allowed before, during, or after the restriction period. To view the entire list of the changes you can make before, during, or after the restriction period, read the announcement from Meta.
What Meta says. “We are putting this restriction period in place again because we found that the restriction period achieves the right balance of giving campaigns a voice while providing additional time for scrutiny of political ads in the Ad Library.
As long as an ad serves an impression before the restriction period goes into effect, candidates running for office and other organizations can continue running these ads through the restriction period to share their closing arguments and mobilize voters with ads.”
Meta best practices. Meta suggests the following best practices to help advertisers avoid disapprovals or delays with their ads during the election period.
- Familiarize yourself with ads about social issues, elections or politics
- Get started early with ad authorization and ad creation
- Review Meta policies
- Bid and budget for a competitive ad auction
- Don’t duplicate ads
Help and resources. Meta has the following help and resource documents available.
Why we care. Advertisers who promote social issues, elections, or politics should comply with these timelines and restrictions to avoid having their ad campaigns disapproved or delayed.