In response to new European rules, Meta Group ends political advertising on Facebook and Instagram

Starting in October 2025, the Meta Group will officially ban all political advertising on its two flagship social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, within the European Union (EU). The web giant announced this in a press release on Friday, July 25.

Meta is thus confirming the disappearance of sponsored publications "relating to a political, electoral or social issue" on its platforms, in anticipation of the entry into force of the European Regulation on transparency and targeting of political advertising (TTPA) .

While political parties and elected officials will not be banned from continuing to use Facebook and Instagram, they will no longer be able to sponsor posts related to their activities.

As a reminder, Meta distinguishes between "electoral and political" advertisements, shared by parties and unions, and so-called "social" advertisements, shared by associations and NGOs. The "social issues" established by the group led by Mark Zuckerberg concern "civil and social rights" , "crime" , "the economy" , "environmental policies" , "health" , "immigration" , "political values and governance" , "security" and "foreign policy" .

Adopted in March 2024, the TTPA imposes, among other things, new obligations on major platforms related to political advertising. The text requires, for example, greater transparency and the display of certain information about the advertiser for each advertisement.

Furthermore, this regulation introduces a new mechanism, designed to limit foreign interference: it prohibits most persons or entities outside the Twenty-Seven from broadcasting political advertising in the three months before any election or referendum in an EU country or at European level.

"This regulation creates an unworkable level of complexity and legal uncertainty for advertisers and platforms operating in the EU ," Meta said in its statement. "The TTPA imposes significant restrictions on the targeting and delivery of ads , which would limit how advertisers addressing issues related to political, electoral, or social issues can reach their audiences."

The European Union considers that the "relevant factors" for detecting a political or social actor are: " An opinion having been expressed on behalf of another entity, that the message is self-promotion of a candidacy or campaign in the context of an election , a referendum or a legislative or regulatory process, that it has been expressed by a person known to be involved in campaigns or actions in favour of change in the political or social field, and that the message is disseminated to an indefinite number of people."

This isn't the first web giant to protest the bill. In November 2024, Google announced that it too would stop political advertising in the EU starting in October 2025. The multinational condemned the "legal uncertainties" and regretted the overly "broad" definition of political advertising.