Facebook says it will ban all political ads indefinitely after polls close for the November 3 election

• Facebook will ban all political ads beginning after the November 3 election, the company announced Wednesday.
• Politicians have previously spent large sums on Facebook ads — the Trump campaign bought over $65 million in Facebook ads since July 1, while the Biden campaign bought $45 million in Facebook ads in that time.
• The move comes after months of mounting scrutiny over the company’s handling of misinformation and criticism of its policy against fact-checking political ads.
• Facebook has also been weighing how to address possible misinformation after polls close, including potential premature claims of victory while votes are still being tallied.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Facebook announced Wednesday that it will ban all political ads indefinitely after the November 3 election. 

The announcement comes as pressure on Facebook grows to counter misinformation in the wake of the election. Last week, Facebook said it would ban political ads that prematurely claimed victory while votes were still being counted, as well as ads making claims of rampant voter fraud without evidence.

Now, Facebook says it will ban all political ads for an indefinite period after polls close on Election Day. The social network also said it will show notifications at the top of people’s News Feeds informing people whether a victor in the presidential election had been determined.

Facebook has faced escalating scrutiny for its handling of political ads in recent months, including its policy against fact-checking ads bought by political candidates. The company also previously said it would block all political candidates from buying new ads in the month preceding the election in order to give moderators enough time to process them.

Campaigns at all levels of government have bet heavily on Facebook advertising in recent years. Since July 1, the Trump campaign has spent $65.9 million on Facebook ads, while the Biden campaign bought $45.8 million worth of ads on the platform in the same time frame, according to data collected by the NYU Ad Observatory.