Meta will stop selling political ads in the EU from October

In response to new restrictions on political advertising in the European Union, Meta said on Friday it will halt sales and display of political advertising in the EU from October.

Calling the legal requirements “no work,” the tech giant wrote in a blog post that what law calls transparency and targeting political advertising (TTPA) “introduces important additional obligations to processes and systems that create unacceptable levels of complexity and legal uncertainty for advertisers and platforms operating in the EU.”

The TTPA, adopted by the European Commission in 2024, requires that advertising be sold to clearly label political ads. Provides information about their sponsorship, the election or referendum they are involved in, advertising costs, and which targeting mechanisms were used.

The law also requires the use of data collected to provide political advertising. It asks that individuals or groups agree to use it for political advertising and prohibit the use of any type of personal data, such as information that may reveal the origins of a race or ethnic group or political opinions, such as information that may reveal the use of it for profiling.

However, these requirements seem too much for the meta. This is a large portion of its revenue from advertising. The company said it had extensive consultations with the EU, but it concluded that it would have to change the service to provide an advertising service that “does not work for advertisers or users” or that it would cease to provide such ads altogether.

“Again, regulatory obligations effectively remove popular products and services from the market, reducing selection and competition,” writes Meta.

Google, another advertising giant that said it would stop selling political ads in the EU by October, raised similar points, claiming that the law presents important operational challenges and legal uncertainty.

This is the latest in a series of tasks between the EU and Big Tech as BLOC tries to curb the impact and power of these platforms. High-tech companies are fighting EU AI laws, enforcement of competition rules, and advertising tracking regulations.