Facebook continues efforts to protect Canadian 2019 Election

Facebook to launch Ad Library and confirm advertiser identities to comply with Bill C-76

TORONTO, March 18, 2019 /CNW/ - Expanding on its ongoing election integrity efforts, Facebook Canada announced new details about its ads transparency tools set to launch in Canada before the end of June 2019, ahead of the Canadian federal election.

In line with the requirements of Bill C-76, the Elections Modernization Act, Facebook will launch the Ad Library in Canada to help ensure that authenticity and transparency are at the core of paid election advertising on Facebook. Facebook will require advertisers to confirm their identities before running political, election related and issue ads, including those that refer to candidates. Additionally, to develop its policy for issue ads in Canada, Facebook is seeking input from an advisory group of prominent Canadian leaders from diverse political backgrounds.

"Understanding the importance of bill C-76 and what's potentially at stake, we're doing the hard and rigorous work to get our political ads transparency tools right for Canadians. We are approaching our efforts with a Canadian lens in building the Ad Library and other processes, while simultaneously applying learnings from similar efforts around the world," said Kevin Chan, Head of Public Policy at Facebook Canada. "We take the protection of elections on Facebook very seriously, and we are committed to being a force for good in Canadian democracy. This is why we devote significant time, energy and resources to these issues."

Ad Library: Bringing More Ad Transparency to Canada

It's important that Canadians know more about the ads they see -- especially those related to political, and election related issues, including those that refer to candidates.

The Ad Library will store ads related to politics targeted to people in Canada and will be viewable and searchable by anyone globally for up to seven years, regardless of whether or not they have a Facebook account. The exact structure of the library is still being developed, but at a high level:

    --  Canadians will notice these ads in News Feed because they will be
        labeled with a "Paid for by" disclaimer.
    --  When they click on the "Paid for by" disclaimer, they will be taken to
        the Ad Library.
    --  The library will share information on the ad's performance, like range
        of spend and impressions, as well as demographics of who saw it - like
        age, gender and location.
    --  The Ad Library builds on Facebook's "Info and Ads" transparency tool,
        which currently allows people to see all the active ads that are running
        from a Page, whether or not the person is the intended audience for the
        ad.

Authorizing Advertisers Ahead of the Election

The Ad Library will cover not only electoral ads, but also 'issue ads' - ads which don't explicitly back one candidate or political party but that are major issues of national importance.

Advertisers who want to run ads in Canada that reference political figures, political parties, elections, or issues of national importance, will have to go through the ad authorizations process and comply with all applicable laws. And while the vast majority of ads on Facebook are run by legitimate organizations, Facebook will work to systematically detect political, election related and issue ads that target people in Canada and confirm whether the advertiser has completed the authorization process. Ads run by advertisers who have not been authorized will be disapproved.

Identifying the Issues Important to Canadians

In Canada, where there aren't laws or agencies that list the key issues of national importance that need to be captured in the Ad Library, Facebook is engaging prominent Canadian leaders, representing Canada's broad political spectrum. Based on this feedback, Facebook is currently planning to train its systems to enhance detection of Canada-specific political, election related and issue ads, building on key learnings from around the world.

The group includes:

    --  Megan Leslie, CEO of WWF Canada, and former Deputy Leader of the New
        Democratic Party of Canada
    --  Antonia Maioni, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, McGill University
    --  Ry Moran, Executive Director, Truth and Reconciliation Centre,
        University of Manitoba
    --  Ray Novak, Managing Director, Harper & Associates, and former Chief of
        Staff to Prime Minister Stephen Harper
    --  David Zussman, Adjunct Professor, School of Public Administration,
        University of Victoria, and former Jarislowsky Chair in Public Sector
        Management, University of Ottawa

About Facebook Canada
Founded in 2004, Facebook's mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. More than 24 million Canadians use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what's going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them. Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc. All other brand or product names mentioned may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

SOURCE Facebook Canada