FirstFT: Meta considers banning political ads in Europe

Today we have a scoop from Europe, where forthcoming rules on online campaigning are prompting Mark Zuckerberg to lead senior management discussions on whether Meta should ban political advertising in the EU across the company’s platforms.

Executives are concerned whether its apps such as Facebook and Instagram will be able to comply with new EU laws, which are designed to force large internet groups to reveal more about the political groups behind online campaigns and which users they are targeting. The laws are set to come into effect next year.

According to people briefed on internal discussions, the executives are worried that the bloc’s definition of political ads under the plan will be so broad that it will be easier to simply refuse all paid-for political campaigns on the company’s sites, especially since users are largely uninterested in such content and revenues generated from political ads are small compared with its wider business.

Some Meta executives are against a ban, the people said, and a final decision will be made when the EU settles on a definition for political ads under its new regulations.

In other Big Tech news, more than 1,000 tech researchers and executives have called for a six-month pause on the development of advanced artificial intelligence to halt what they call a “dangerous” arms race.

The open letter published yesterday warned that recent AI developments were “out-of-control”. It was signed by Elon Musk, who co-founded ChatGPT creator OpenAI but left in 2018, as well as the co-founders of Apple, Pinterest and Skype.

Here’s what else I’m watching today:

• Economic data: Germany has its preliminary consumer price index for this month, and the US releases gross domestic product figures for the fourth quarter and last year.

• Results: Retailer H&M and German media conglomerate Bertelsmann report. See our Week Ahead newsletter for the full list.

What did you think of today’s FirstFT? Let us know at firstft@ft.com. Thanks for reading.

Five more top stories

1. EXCLUSIVE: Revolut has frustrated its own board after portraying a critical audit report as a clean bill of health when in fact auditor BDO had warned that the fintech group’s revenues “may be materially misstated”. Read the full story here.

2. The UK and EU could co-ordinate on a new carbon border tax in an effort to tackle climate change and respond to the US’s massive green subsidy programme, UK prime minister Rishi Sunak said, in a sign of warming relations. Here’s how this could help address “carbon leakage”.

3. Walt Disney has ousted Marvel chair Isaac Perlmutter after he clashed with chief executive Bob Iger, as the entertainment group embarks on thousands of job cuts. Perlmutter’s $4bn sale of Marvel was transformative for Disney, but he was also considered difficult to work with.

4. Investors are in uproar over new EU rules to classify sustainable investments that have led asset managers to remove the label from €175bn of funds — or 40 per cent of the market — in just over three months to January. Read more on why Brussels may have to rethink a key part of its flagship initiative.

5. London has lost its sole lead as the world’s top financial centre, tying with New York for the first time. Research by the City noted London’s fewer international listings and its US rival’s higher levels of sustainable finance issuance. See how other cities compared.

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Take a break from the news

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Additional contributions by Gordon Smith and Emily Goldberg