Facebook has pledged to increase transparency on its platform, following a series of damaging revelations about how user data has been used. That includes a new tool intended to make advertising more transparent on the platform.
What is Facebook doing?
From April 25th, Facebook will allow Irish users to see what ads an advertiser is currently running on the social media platform, regardless of whether it appears in their news feeds.
How can I see them?
If you see an ad, you will be able to click on it and go to the advertiser’s page, and select the option to view all ads. That will show you every ad the page is running at that time, whether you are part of their advertising demographic or not.
Why is it important?
Facebook allows advertisers to micro-target users, showing different ads to different audiences depending on a set of criteria chosen by the advertiser. That could be age, location, family status, interests, purchasing behaviours, device usage and so on. That allows advertisers to reach the people that they think will be interested in their products.
For political and issues ads, however, it creates some uncertainty. Where traditional advertising was more transparent, with ads more prominent and public, this type of micro-targetting means that some users may never be aware of the other types of ads a page is pushing. That has raised some concerns.
Why is Facebook doing this?
The company has come under increasing scrutiny for its role in the recent US presidential election, and its potential impact on the Brexit decision in the UK. This comes following the revelations that data of up to 87 million users could have been improperly shared with consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica and used to profile them during election campaigns.
There are concerns that foreign interference in elections and referenda could impact the results. However, although there has been much talk about manipulation of voters through social media, the theories are considered largely unproven for now.
Is this available everywhere?
Not right now. Canada was the testing ground for this programme, but Facebook decided to add Ireland for the pilot programme because the final version of the tool won’t launch until after the referendum on the Eighth Amendment. It is set to officially roll out globally from June, which means Ireland is getting it before the US.
What next?
The second phase of this particular tool will identify who has paid for the ad, along with the reach of the ad.
Facebook is also planning to introduce tagging for political ads, plus a database for such ads. It will introduce artificial intelligence tools to seek out ads that don’t declare themselves as political, along with requiring advertisers wishing to run political ads to have their identity verified.
