Mark Zuckerberg defends political ads on Facebook after Twitter ban

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WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 23: With an image of himself on a screen in the background, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill October 23, 2019 in Washington, DC. Zuckerberg testified about Facebook's proposed cryptocurrency Libra, how his company will handle false and misleading information by political leaders during the 2020 campaign and how it handles its users’ data and privacy. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has defended his decision to allow political advertising as the social network after Twitter boss Jack Dorsey threw down the gauntlet over the issue.

Read more: Twitter pulls all political advertising as voters support regulation

Dorsey announced yesterday that all paid-for political advertising would be banned on Twitter, in move that has piled pressure on Facebook to follow suit.

The Twitter boss said that “political message reach should be earned, not bought”.

In comments made on a call with investors following the release of Facebook’s quarterly results, Zuckerberg defended his platform’s policy.

“In a democracy, I don’t think it’s right for private companies to censor politicians or the news,” he said.

“And it’s hard to define where to draw the line. Would we really block ads for important political issues like climate change or women’s empowerment? Instead, I believe the better approach is to work to increase transparency,” Zuckerberg added.

Read more: Profit jumps at Facebook despite regulatory pressure

The chief executive said that adverts from politicians would account for less than 0.5 per cent of Facebook’s revenue next year.

Main image credit: Getty