Meta has declared that it will suspend all political advertising in the European Union by October this year, citing legal uncertainties related to new regulations aimed at enhancing the transparency of electoral campaigns.

According to AP, the social media giant stated that starting in October, it will no longer permit advertisements related to political, electoral, and social issues across its platforms, including Threads.

Meta explained that it made this decision due to the "ineffective" EU regulations concerning transparency and targeting of political ads.

This is not the first time a major tech company has taken such action; last year, Google announced it would stop showing political ads to EU users until these rules come into effect, citing similar reasons.

The regulations, which are set to take effect on October 10, require platforms to label political ads, disclosing who funded them and which campaign, referendum, or legislative process they relate to. Ads must be stored in a database and can only be targeted to users under strict conditions.

"These regulations impose significant additional obligations on our processes and systems, creating an unacceptable level of complexity and legal uncertainty for advertisers and platforms operating in the EU," Meta stated.

Violations could incur fines up to 6% of the company’s annual global revenue.

Meta mentioned that its decision will not affect users who want to discuss politics on its platforms and will not prevent politicians and candidates from "organically sharing political content."

"They will simply not be able to promote it through paid advertising," the statement read.