Facebook on Monday unveiled tools aimed at clamping down on political interference ahead of key 2019 elections, including the European Parliament vote slated for May.

The US technology giant has come under immense pressure to tighten ad rules and counter disinformation campaigns on its platform, most notably after Russian actors were linked to a successful campaign to sway the 2016 US presidential election in favor of Donald Trump.

Starting in late March, political ads will have a "paid for by" disclaimer, which will link to a public searchable database that shows who paid for the ad, how was much paid and who viewed the ad according to age, gender and location. The information will be stored for seven years.

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New tools

Nick Clegg, British deputy prime minister-turned-Facebook vice president, said those who wish to run political and issue ads will need "to be authorized" before launching an ad campaign, a measure that forms part of the tools unveiled on Monday.

"These tools will cover not only electoral but also so-called issue ads, ads which don't explicitly back one candidate or political party but which focus on highly politicized topics like immigration," said Clegg, who was hired to lead Facebook's global policy in October.

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Facebook also announced that it plans to create two new regional operations centers that will monitor election-related content. The offices are expected to be based in Dublin and Singapore.

"These teams will add a layer of defense against fake news, hate speech and voter suppression," Clegg added. Other measures include setting up an independent oversight board.

Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies Free speech or illegal content? Whether hate speech, propaganda or activism, governments across the globe have upped efforts to curb content deemed illegal from circulating on social networks. From drawn-out court cases to blanket bans, DW examines how some countries try to stop the circulation of illicit content while others attempt to regulate social media.

Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies Social media law After a public debate in Germany, a new law on social media came into effect in October. The legislation imposes heavy fines on social media companies, such as Facebook, for failing to take down posts containing hate speech. Facebook and other social media companies have complained about the law, saying that harsh rules might lead to unnecessary censorship.

Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies Right to be forgotten In 2014, the European Court of Justice ruled that European citizens had the right to request search engines, such as Google and Bing, remove "inaccurate, inadequate, irrelevant or excessive" search results linked to their name. Although Google has complied with the ruling, it has done so reluctantly, warning that it could make the internet as "free as the world's least free place."

Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies Blanket ban In May 2017, Ukraine imposed sanctions on Russian social media platforms and web services. The blanket ban affected millions of Ukrainian citizens, many of whom were anxious about their data. The move prompted young Ukrainians to protest on the streets, calling for the government to reinstate access to platforms that included VKontakte (VK), Russia's largest social network.

Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies Safe Harbor In 2015, the European Court of Justice ruled that Safe Harbor, a 15-year-old pact between the US and EU that allowed the transfer of personal data without prior approval, was effectively invalid. Austrian law student Max Schrems launched the legal proceedings against Facebook in response to revelations made by former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, Edward Snowden.

Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies Regulation In China, the use of social media is highly regulated by the government. Beijing has effectively blocked access to thousands of websites and platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Instead, China offers its citizens access to local social media platforms, such as Weibo and WeChat, which boast hundreds of millions of monthly users.

Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies Twitter bans Russia-linked accounts Many politicians and media outlets blame Russia's influence for Donald Trump's election victory in 2016. Moscow reportedly used Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Instagram to shape public opinion on key issues. In October 2017, Twitter suspended over 2,750 accounts due to alleged Russian propaganda. The platform also banned ads from RT (formerly Russia Today) and the Sputnik news agency.

Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies Facebook announces propaganda-linked tool With social media under pressure for allowing alleged Russian meddling, Facebook announced a new project to combat such efforts in November 2017. The upcoming page will give users a chance to check if they "liked" or followed an alleged propaganda account on Facebook or Instagram. Meanwhile, Facebook has come under fire for not protecting user data in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Author: Lewis Sanders IV (dj)



'More concrete actions'

But some in Brussels see the efforts as insufficient for the task. EU Commission for Justice Vera Jourova said the tech giant needed to do more to safeguard democratic processes.

"I am glad to hear that Facebook is rolling out new tools and is committed to privacy, but I expect less rhetoric or apologies and more concrete actions, especially when it comes to disinformation and protecting elections from manipulation," Jourova said.

She said she expects Facebook "to help solve the problems they help to create in the first place."

Read more: Fake news: Media's post-truth problem

Apple faces privacy concerns

Facebook's announcement comes as technology giant Apple faces privacy concerns over the discovery of a FaceTime bug that allows callers to access the microphone and front-facing camera of the called iPhones before the call is picked up.

A viral social media post showed the bug on FaceTime, Apple's audio and video chat service.

"We're aware of this issue and we have identified a fix that will be released in a software update later this week," an Apple spokesperson told German news agency DPA.

Apple's support page stated Monday that "Group FaceTime is temporarily unavailable."

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ls,law/se (AFP, Reuters, AP)