Statement from Priorities USA on Facebook Admitting Fault with Mistaken Ad Shutoffs
The following statement is from Priorities USA Chairman Guy Cecil:
After two days of public and private complaints, Facebook has finally acknowledged that they were wrong in shutting off our ads, but their recalcitrance and failure to prepare cost us two of the final seven days of advertising. Facebook has had years to improve their policies. This last-minute policy rollout and implementation was a choice.
Throughout this process we were misled and strung along in an attempt to shift blame onto us and other organizations, but the facts tell a different story. Many groups large and small were dealing with the same problems created by Facebook’s errors.
It is bad enough that Facebook has spent four years bending over backwards to please Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress. The last two days demonstrate a refusal to act responsibly without public pressure. While we are one of the largest spenders on digital ads in either party, it should not take a public campaign and endless calls to get Facebook to act. This is much harder for the many smaller organizations that are working to combat misinformation and voter suppression that do not have the connections and resources of a large group like ours.
While we are glad to see our ads being turned back on, we call on Facebook to guarantee that no other organizations will have to deal with these issues and to respect their own policies as written. We sincerely hope the next Congress and president look closely at Facebookâs election policy and program implementation as they consider future regulatory decisions.