Wired: Why Facebook Will Struggle To Regulate Political Ads. “IN 2011, FACEBOOK asked the Federal Election Commission to exempt it from rules requiring political advertisers to disclose who’s paying for an ad. Political ads on TV and radio must include such disclosures. But Facebook argued that its ads should be regulated as ‘small items,’ similar to bumper stickers, which don’t require disclosures. The FEC ended up deadlocked on the issue, and the question of how to handle digital ads has languished for six years. Now, it’s blowing up again—and damaging Facebook in the process.”
elections
Reuters: German election campaign largely unaffected by fake news or bots
Reuters: German election campaign largely unaffected by fake news or bots. “Germany is on guard against any last-minute meddling in Sunday’s election but experts have seen only isolated attempts to swing votes during the campaign. There are also no signs that fake news will affect the outcome of the election, which Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats are expected to win.”
Ars Technica: Facebook revamps political-ad rules after discovering Russian ad buys
Ars Technica: Facebook revamps political-ad rules after discovering Russian ad buys. “Two weeks ago, Facebook admitted that a ‘shadowy Russian company’ spent $100,000 on political ads targeting US Facebook users during the 2016 election campaign. At the time, Facebook turned in information about these ad buys to special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the election. Today, Facebook announced that it would also be turning the information over to Congressional investigators. And Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would be stepping up its efforts to prevent foreign election interference in the future.”
TechCrunch: Senate Intelligence Committee wants Facebook to appear in a public Russia hearing
TechCrunch: Senate Intelligence Committee wants Facebook to appear in a public Russia hearing . “According to its chairman, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence intends to call Facebook to a public hearing on Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. North Carolina Senator Richard Burr made remarks to reporters on Tuesday confirming the committee’s interest in speaking with Facebook, the Hill reports. ‘We’re in agreement on a Facebook public hearing,’ Burr said. ‘It’s just a question of when and potentially the scope.'”
Der Spiegel: AfD Accuses Google of Sabotaging Campaign
Der Spiegel: AfD Accuses Google of Sabotaging Campaign. “DER SPIEGEL has learned that Google has refused for more than a week to place certain ads for a controversial anti-Merkel website created by the Alternative for Germany. The right-wing populist party says it will respond by spending its budget for the project on Facebook instead.”
Texas secession movement: Russia-linked Facebook group asked us to participate in anti-Clinton rallies (Business Insider)
Business Insider: Texas secession movement: Russia-linked Facebook group asked us to participate in anti-Clinton rallies. “A Russia-linked Facebook group asked a Texas secessionist movement if it would participate in a series of anti-immigrant, anti-Hillary Clinton rallies it was planning to hold across the state last November, the group’s president told Business Insider on Thursday.”
CNET: Facebook gives investigators new details on Russian ads
CNET: Facebook gives investigators new details on Russian ads. “Facebook has sent government investigators new records about Russian-linked ads placed on its service during the 2016, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.”
