Twitter to ease the ban on political advertising

Twitter says it will relax restrictions on its 3-year-old ban on political advertising, as owner Elon Musk tries to boost revenue of the social media platform. The social media platform tweeted: “We’re relaxing our ads policy for cause-based ads in the US. We also plan to expand the political advertising we permit in the coming weeks.”

Twitter banned all political advertising in 2019 amid growing concern on misinformation spreading on social media. At the time, then-CEO Jack Dorsey said that while internet ads are powerful and effective for commercial advertisers, “that power brings significant risks to politics, where it can be used to influence votes to affect the lives of millions.” He also declared that reaching people with political messages should be “earned, not bought”.

The latest move represents a break from that policy, which had banned ads by candidates, political parties, or elected or appointed government officials. In reversing the ban, Twitter said that “cause-based advertising can facilitate public conversation around important topics” and that the change will align the platform’s advertising policy with those of “TV and other media outlets”.

In a post on Twitter’s safety account, the company added that it would ensure, as with any policy change, “our approach to reviewing and approving content protects people on Twitter”. However, Elon Musk has recently reinstated controversial accounts, such as those belonging to Donald Trump and Andrew Tate, despite pledging initially that such moves would be resolved by a “content moderation council”.