Trump questions Facebook's overhaul on political advertisements
WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump yesterday questioned Facebook's decision to overhaul how it handles paid political advertisements amid investigations into alleged Russian interference in the US presidential election last year.
"The Russia hoax continues, now it's ads on Facebook," Mr Trump tweeted.
His tirade comes after Facebook launched an overhaul of how it handles paid political advertisements, giving a concession to US lawmakers who have threatened to regulate the world's largest social network over secretive advertisements that run during election campaigns.
Facebook added it would turn over to congressional investigators the 3,000 political advertisements it says were likely purchased by Russian entities during and after the US election.
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the company, for the first time, will make it possible for anyone to see any political advertisements that run on Facebook. It will also demand that political advertisers disclose who is paying for the advertisements, a requirement that under US law applies to political advertisements on television but not on social media.
Earlier this month, Facebook said an internal review showed that an operation likely based in Russia spent US$100,000 (S$134,000) on 3,000 Facebook advertisements promoting divisive messages in the months before and after the US election.
Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on Thursday that he wants to hear from Facebook, Alphabet Inc's Google, Twitter and others in public hearings.- REUTERS
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