GeekWire: Should Facebook ban political ads? ...our state forces the issue

Mark Zuckerberg testifies in congress
Photo from YouTube video

Fascinating article in GeekWire about Facebook's political ads and our state's attempts to protect ourselves and hold Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to our laws.

Mark Zuckerberg defended Facebook’s decision to continue running political ads this week, despite concerns about disinformation, in a passionate speech about free expression at Georgetown University. 

But a legal crackdown in Washington state raises questions about whether Facebook could rein in political advertising even if it wanted to.

This week, Zuckerberg was grilled by a congressional committee. His response was a passionate plea for free speech.

But with the memory of Russian interference in the 2016 election fresh, and 2020 rapidly approaching, Facebook’s policies on political ads will remain under a microscope. Because of that, Washington state’s unique ad regulations could serve as a case study as federal regulators and voters decide what role the social network should play in spreading political messaging.

Should Facebook ban political ads? Here’s what happened when one state tried to force the issue