Twitter Should Rescind Its US Policy Against
Twitter should rescind its US policy against "cause-based" political advertising
The latest adjustment made by Elon Musk as he attempts to increase money after acquiring the social media platform last year is Twitter's announcement that it will relax its three-year-old ban on political advertising.
Late on Tuesday, the business tweeted, "We're easing our ad rules for cause-based commercials in the US."
The business announced on Twitter Safety that it also "plans to extend the political advertising we accept in the coming weeks."
In 2019, Twitter outlawed all political advertising in response to growing anxiety over the spread of false information on social media.
Internet advertisements are powerful and effective for commercial advertisers, but "that strength comes considerable hazards to consumers," according to the then-CEO Jack Dorsey.
to politics, where it can be applied to sway elections and have an impact on millions of people's lives.
The most recent action seems to depart from that rule, which forbade advertisements by candidates, political parties, or elected or appointed public officials.
A small portion of Twitter's overall revenue, or less than $US3 million ($4.5 million), came from political advertising during the 2018 US midterm elections.
Without giving more information, Twitter reversed the prohibition because "cause-based advertising can foster public debate around important problems" and because the adjustment will bring the platform's advertising policies in line with those of "TV and other media outlets."
Facebook's restriction on political and social issue advertisements, which was instituted following the 2020 US presidential election, was removed in March 2021.
Musk, who calls himself a "free-speech champion," purchased Twitter because, according to reports, he thought the site wasn't being as open as it could be.
But in order to justify the $US44 billion ($65 billion) purchase, the billionaire Tesla CEO has been forced to make drastic expense cuts and scurry to discover new revenue streams.
