Meta Contemplates Discontinuing Political Advertisements Across Europe

Is this purely about the ‘paid advertisements’ or also the posts of political parties and all those ‘text photos’ with angry texts about Mark Rutte/the government/etc

I think you’re getting to the heart of the matter here. The problem isn’t political party ads in general. I must confess that I had prepared myself so badly for the water board elections that I rejected one of the parties as “provocative right”, only to find out a day later (thanks to the newspaper) that it was the party with which I shared many views . Instead, I opted for a party that I did not fully support, but that I knew from the second chamber and that seemed better to me than the alternatives. In other words: that party I didn’t know could have won my vote with targeted advertising. I am therefore not against political advertising.

Of course, the airtime for this is for political parties, but who watches linear television anymore? Not me anyway. I do read newspapers and see billboards in the city, but I don’t see why political advertisements should be allowed in those commercial places, but they are allowed on social media.

However, social media is not just a commercial platform like bus shelters and television channels: they are society’s drain. So as long as everyone there can spew their bile (almost) unmoderated, commercially and personally, it makes little sense to ban a very specific, but politically charged part, while all other channels and topics remain open.