Facebook mulls ban on political ads ahead of U.S. elections - Bloomberg News

Last year, smaller rival Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) banned political ads, but Facebook has maintained that it does not want to stifle political speech. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Facebook Inc is considering imposing a ban on political ads on its social network in the days leading up to the Nov. 3 elections in the United States, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the company's thinking. The potential ban is only being discussed and has not been finalized, the report added. (https://bloom.bg/2ZY7F6X)

A Facebook spokesman said the company had no comment on the report. The social media company has been under fire for its policy of exempting politicians' ads from fact-checking. Last year, smaller rival Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) banned political ads, but Facebook has maintained that it does not want to stifle political speech.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. But last month it published an open letter to Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg calling for the company to fact-check politicians' ads in the two weeks ahead of the election. Republican President Donald Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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