Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has confirmed that it is banning political campaigns and political advertisers from using the social media titan’s suite of generative artificial intelligence (AI) advertising tools.
The confirmation, given to Reuters, followed a report quoting Meta insiders on the subject.
Meta subsequently updated its information portal with the following guidelines: "As we continue to test new Generative AI ads creation tools in Ads Manager, advertisers running campaigns that qualify as ads for Housing, Employment or Credit or Social Issues, Elections, or Politics, or related to Health, Pharmaceuticals or Financial Services aren't currently permitted to use these Generative AI features."
"We believe this approach will allow us to better understand potential risks and build the right safeguards for the use of Generative AI in ads that relate to potentially sensitive topics in regulated industries," it said.
Generative AI and deep learning have emerged as serious issues in the fight to combat misinformation.
More than ever, anyone with a computer can create ‘deep fakes’ that mimic a public figure’s appearance and voice, allowing for the easy dissemination of false information.
Discussing Meta’s AI tools in October, Meta’s president for global affairs Nick Clegg stated: “I can't guarantee to you that bad people are not going to use these models for bad purposes.
“It's the same with any foundational technology. I can't guarantee that someone is not going to use a car for bad purposes. You put a bad person behind the wheel of the car, they can do terrible damage.”
Other major technology companies are also contending with the social ramifications of their rapidly developing AI technologies.
Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) will soon require political ads to disclose whether they use "synthetic content that inauthentically depicts real or realistic-looking people or events”.
TikTok and Snapchat do not allow political ads in any form.
TokTok’s terms and conditions state that “sharing political beliefs and engaging in political conversation is allowed as organic content, but it cannot be used with paid ad products, such as Spark Ads and Promote”.