BRUSSELS – Social media giant Meta—operator of Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp—has announced that beginning early October 2025, it will halt all political, electoral, and social issue advertising across the European Union. The decision comes in response to the EU’s new Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation, which will be enforced in full by October 10.
Meta has branded the TTPA rules as overly complex and legally uncertain, arguing that they impose “unworkable requirements” on both platforms and advertisers. Under the regulation, political ads must disclose funding sources, targeted elections or causes, costs, and audience targeting methods. Non-compliance could result in fines of up to 6% of global annual turnover.
This move closely follows Google’s similar decision last year to suspend political ads in the EU for comparable reasons. Meta emphasized that the policy shift affects only paid political advertising—users, political parties, and candidates will still be able to post and debate political content organically on its platforms.
Meta’s Position and Regional Impact
Meta claims the TTPA uniquely undermines personalized advertising and the effectiveness of campaigns focused on voter education and civic engagement, potentially restricting public access to issue-based messaging.
Although Meta will pull paid political ads in the EU, it affirmed that its “industry-leading” ad transparency tools—used globally—will remain intact in other regions.
The announcement underscores ongoing friction between Silicon Valley tech firms and European regulators. Meta is currently facing multiple EU investigations under the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, and has recently declined to sign the bloc’s AI Code of Practice citing legal ambiguity.
