Meta Will Stop Selling Political Ads in the EU by October

Meta will stop selling any ads related to politics, elections, and social issues in the European Union by October 2025, the company announced in a July 25 press release. The move is a response to the EU’s Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation, which it called “unworkable.”

Meta’s decision will apply to all of its platforms in the EU, such as Instagram, Facebook, and Threads.

The TTPA, adopted by the European Commission (the EU’s main executive body) in 2024, is meant to address concerns related to “information manipulation and foreign interference in elections, along with the processing of personal data for political advertising purposes.”

Some of the rules established by the TTPA include forcing companies to label political advertising clearly and disclose relevant information about their sponsors, among other requirements. According to the law, user data can only be collected to serve political advertisements if the user gives their explicit consent, and the information is prohibited from being used to profile the user.

In its press release, Meta declared that “From early October 2025, we will no longer allow political, electoral and social issue ads on our platforms in the EU.”

“We continue to believe online political advertising is a vital part of modern politics, connecting people to important information about the politicians that represent them, and ensuring candidates have a cost-effective way of reaching their audiences,” continues the post.

Meta follows another tech giant, Google, in this move. Last year, Google announced it would stop displaying political ads in the EU before the rules came into effect.

“We have been left with an impossible choice: alter our services to offer an advertising product which doesn’t work for advertisers or users, without guarantee that our solution would be viewed as compliant, or stop allowing political, electoral, and social issue ads in the EU. […] Once again, we’re seeing regulatory obligations effectively remove popular products and services from the market, reducing choice and competition,” the company wrote.

The changes will only take effect in EU territories.

Meta has clashed with the European Union over regulations in the past. In July, the company said it would maintain its “pay-or-consent” model for advertising, despite risking heavy fines by the European Commission over its breach of the Digital Services Act.