Meta said it will extend its blackout period on election-related ads beyond the US election, as it readies for what is likely to be a long drawn-out, and contentious count.

Meta's usual blackout period for elections ads would have been in place between October 29th through November 5th but is now extending that indefinitely to mitigate potential concerns

Says Meta:

Ads on social issues, elections or politics are further delayed until the end of this week. To reiterate, ads that have run prior to 12:01 AM PT on October 29, 2024 and served at least one impression are permitted to continue running during the restriction period but with limited editing capabilities.

So Meta's gone with the non-definitive "later this week" as its extension period, as it looks to measure response to the poll, and what that means for civic participation.

Already, several political commentators have claimed the possibility of vote tampering and party operators looking to cheat the democratic system in various ways. That follows the 2020 election, where accusations of vote rigging carried on right through to inauguration day and sparked various incidents of violent unrest.

Considering this, Meta wants to make sure that it is not contributing in any form to such and therefore is expanding its election ad restrictions for an indefinite time, again.

Of course, this doesn't mean a lot to average advertisers except in the sense that it clears the way for more ads in more places in Meta's apps. But election angst may make those ads less effective either way, so that may not be much of a benefit after all.

This, of course, will mean thinking of one's strategies a little bit differently, but then again, I do think most political ad campaigns are already on hold now until results become clear.

Meta will update on their political ads blackout later this week.