Ireland – Facebook ‘took matters into own hands’ over pro-life ads

Facebook ‘took matters into own hands’ over pro-life ads
Social media site opted to ban foreign influences in referendum on eighth amendment after Irish officials failed to offer legal guidance, claims chief Mark Zuckerberg

Brian Mahon
July 14 2019
The Sunday Times

Mark Zuckerberg, the chairman and chief executive of Facebook, has revealed his company consulted Irish officials about whether to allow pro-life ads from America on the social media platform during last year’s abortion referendum.

Speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado in June, Zuckerberg said that in response to his request for guidance, his company was told to take whatever decision it saw fit.

Continued: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/facebook-took-matters-into-own-hands-over-pro-life-ads-jbct26vnk

14.07.2019

Featured

News

Facebook abortion ads

Facebook and abortion referendum

foreign donations for referendum campaign

Liz Carolan

Mark Zuckerberg

SIPO

Standards in Public Office Commission

Transparent Referendum Initiative

Europe

Ireland

Activism

Ireland – Facebook admits publishing foreign ads before abortion vote

Facebook admits publishing foreign ads before abortion vote

Aaron Rogan, Senior Ireland Reporter
November 28 2018

Facebook has admitted that it took large sums of money from foreign groups that sought to influence Irish voters on the abortion referendum.

The company’s handling of political ads during the campaign before the vote in May was raised yesterday at a meeting in the House of Commons, attended by politicians from several countries including Ireland.

Continued: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/facebook-admits-publishing-foreign-ads-before-abortion-vote-mgjgxtn0l

28.11.2018

Featured

News

abortion referendum

Facebook abortion ads

Facebook and abortion referendum

herry Perreault

Hildegarde Naughton

Lord Allan of Hallam

Oireachtas communications committee

Facebook to publish data on Irish abortion referendum ads

Facebook to publish data on Irish abortion referendum ads
Social media company to provide details of spending on ads targeting Irish voters

Emma Graham-Harrison
Fri 20 Jul 2018

Facebook is to publish comprehensive data on political advertising during Ireland’s abortion referendum campaign, giving an unprecedented insight into targeting of voters on social media, and setting a powerful precedent for election transparency.

The US company has told Irish politicians it will provide anonymised details of the amount spent on targeting Irish voters on its platform between 1 March and 25 May, and the number of referendum-linked ads that had been purchased.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/20/facebook-publish-data-irish-abortion-referendum-ad-spending-targeting-voters

20.07.2018

Facebook abortion ads

Facebook and abortion referendum

Transparent Referendum Initiative

Europe

Ireland

Ireland – Facebook will not extend ban to all ads relating to referendum

Facebook will not extend ban to all ads relating to referendum
Social media giant will not follow Google’s lead with wider ban; Twitter says it has not seen any attempts to manipulate platform for purposes of referendum

May 10, 2018
Pat Leahy, Sarah Bardon, Ciara O'Brien

Facebook has said that it does not intend to follow the lead of Google and ban all ads relating to the abortion referendum.

Responding to questions from The Irish Times yesterday, a Facebook spokesman said “at the moment Facebook is not considering extending the ban on foreign ads”.

Continued: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/abortion-referendum/facebook-will-not-extend-ban-to-all-ads-relating-to-referendum-1.3491114

Facebook stops accepting foreign-funded ads about Ireland’s abortion vote

Facebook stops accepting foreign-funded ads about Ireland’s abortion vote

Natasha Lomas
May 8, 2018

Facebook has announced it has stopped accepting ads paid for by foreign entities that are related to a referendum vote in Ireland later this month, saying it’s acting to try to prevent outsiders from attempting to skew the vote. The referendum will decide whether to repeal or retain Ireland’s constitutional ban on abortion.

“Concerns have been raised about organisations and individuals based outside of Ireland trying to influence the outcome of the referendum on the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Ireland by buying ads on Facebook. This is an issue we have been thinking about for some time,” the company writes today on its Dublin blog.

Continued: https://techcrunch.com/2018/05/08/facebook-stops-accepting-foreign-funded-ads-about-irelands-abortion-vote/

08.05.2018

Facebook abortion ads

Facebook and abortion referendum

Europe

Ireland

Activism

Ireland – Rising number of unregulated online ads in abortion campaign

Rising number of unregulated online ads in abortion campaign
Government may need to seek change in law to govern online campaigning – McEntee

May 2, 2018
Pat Leahy

A Fine Gael Minister, a Fianna Fáil TD and an independent senator have all warned in recent days about the growing proliferation of unregulated online advertisements in the abortion referendum campaign.

Minister for European Affairs Helen McEntee said Government may need to seek a change in the law to govern online campaigning in the future, but encouraged Yes campaigners to “call out” misleading or false advertising by No campaigners.

Continued: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/rising-number-of-unregulated-online-ads-in-abortion-campaign-1.3481842

Facebook launches transparency tool for Irish abortion vote

Facebook launches transparency tool for Irish abortion vote

30 Apr 2018

A new tool from Facebook that allows users in Ireland to view the sources of sponsored posts ahead of a referendum on abortion rights fails the test of true transparency on the platform, say critics.

Launched initially on April 25 as part of a transparency pilot program, the View Ads feature shows Irish users all ads any Facebook page is promoting to people in Ireland, even if those ads are not in their individual news feed.

Continued: https://www.wikitribune.com/story/2018/04/30/internet/facebook-launches-transparency-tool-in-ireland-for-abortion-vote/68061/

American Pro-Lifers Are Using Facebook To Sway Ireland’s Abortion Debate

American Pro-Lifers Are Using Facebook To Sway Ireland's Abortion Debate

By Jason Murdock
On 4/26/18

Facebook accounts managed by pro-life activists living in the U.S. are reportedly being used to influence the opinions of voters ahead of Ireland’s May 25 referendum on repealing the country’s strict abortion ban.

On Wednesday, Facebook launched a new transparency tool in Ireland designed to provide clarity over how ads are served, but admitted that because it was still in the pilot stage it would not yet show who was funding them.

Continued: http://www.newsweek.com/american-pro-lifers-are-using-facebook-sway-irelands-abortion-debate-902355

Facebook tries to battle fake news for Ireland’s abortion referendum

IrishCentral Staff
April 23, 2018

Facebook is attempting to eliminate fake ads and provide transparency on its platform ahead of Ireland’s abortion referendum vote on May 25.

In the wake of Russian interference in the U.S. 2016 election, the social media giant is introducing a new tool that, according to CNN, will “give users more information about political advertisements and sponsored posts in their News Feeds.”

The new feature, which has already been tested in Canada, is expected to be available in Ireland on April 25, ahead of the global launch.

Continued: https://www.irishcentral.com/news/politics/facebook-fake-news-ireland-abortion-referendum

23.04.2018

Facebook abortion ads

Facebook and abortion referendum

Lesotho – Where Abortion is Illegal, Women Turn to Facebook for Alternatives

Where Abortion is Illegal, Women Turn to Facebook for Alternatives

March 29, 2018
By Jenna Presta in International

Women in Lesotho are finding abortion pills and their providers on Facebook. Abortion, a matter of common law rather than statutory law in Lesotho, is illegal in all cases except those that threaten the life of the mother according to the UN country report.

In addition to legal obstacles, women in Lesotho face threats of social isolation, similar to women in the United States, where abortion can also be a taboo topic. These societal implications coupled with the legal restrictions of the nation drive women to seek out an alternative path.

Continued: http://www.mediafiledc.com/abortion-illegal-women-turn-dangerous-measures/