Facebook And Google's Political Ad Ban Extension Is Irking Georgia Senate Run-Off Campaigners

A week after the election day, tech giants Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) have decided to extend the ban on political ads, possibly by a month.

What Happened: A Wall Street Journal publication cited sources who claimed that Google “is unlikely to lift its ban in November or December.” The report also quoted an email statement by Facebook, saying that the social media portal aims to control false narratives, leading to confusion about the election outcomes. 

The Journal also cited FB’s blog, which claims the initiatives were “part of our ongoing efforts to protect the election.”

Why Does It Matter: The Associated Press declared president-elect Joe Biden’s triumph on Saturday. President Donald Trump disagrees with the results alleging voter fraud, without producing any concrete evidence to support the argument until now.

Such claims create a potential conflict, especially with the state of Georgia preparing to hold the Senate run-off race on Jan 5.

Representatives from the run-off campaigns for the Democratic side ask that the senate face-off be exempted from these policies. They believe that social media and digital platforms could be used to promote awareness among voters. The Republicans also hold a similar stance concerning the ban on political ads — WSJ.

The Senate tiebreaker could be critical because a single seat’s victory will give the Republican party a senate majority. In contrast, the Democrats have to secure both the seats for an equal control of the senate, reports Politico.

Facebook faced criticisms last week for allowing Presidential hopefuls to declare victories in individual states. These criticisms came barely a couple of days after FB’s social media platform was used to repost blocked ads against Joe Biden, the Presidential candidate at the time.

Price Action: On Wednesday, FB shares closed 1.49% higher to $276.48, whereas GOOG gained 0.71% to $1,752.71.