Facebook will introduce transparency policy for ads ahead of EU election

Facebook’s vice president, former UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, said on Monday that the social media platform would introduce its new transparency tools ahead of the next European Union elections in May.

The new advertising regulations were set after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which Facebook failed to protect its users' data and privacy, prompting the new regulations which are aimed at trying to counter online political meddling from groups with a possible malicious intent and to block the dissemination of “fake news”.

In remarks prepared for a speech at a Brussels event, Clegg said the new tools would become available in late March and would help "make political advertising on Facebook more transparent".

Under the new rules, properly tagged political advertising posts will carry a disclaimer revealing what person or group paid for the post. Furthermore, the ads will be stored on servers for up to seven years with details on the buyer and the topic of advertising.

The topics that are considered “political” will not only include information on one party or another but will also extend to those such as immigration.

Clegg also said that a Dublin-based operations center focused on elections integrity will be set up in the spring.