With U.K. voters set to head to polls on Thursday, the role played by technology couldn't be more significant.
to basic demographic information like age and gender — effectively a ban on what's been referred to as a "microtargeting." But Facebook, one of the biggest platforms for online advertising, has stood by its decision to accept political ads, even if they contain false information.
Dehaye said that Facebook is "the most obscure channel" when it comes to political advertising, "as ads can be targeted to individuals in an opaque way, then amplified peer-to-peer through reshares." He claimed the company can't afford to take "half measures," adding: "It needs to ban political ads."
According to Facebook's data, the Conservatives spent £81,897 in the seven days ending Dec. 5, while Labour spent £178,379 and the Liberal Democrats spent £175,152. But the feature has proven vulnerable, as thousands of political ads"In the end, I think more radical and reliable transparency, with some consistency in policy between the platforms, is the way to go," said Sam Jeffers, co-founder of political ad tracker Who Targets Me.
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