Facebook on Monday debuted its repertoire of tools to make advertising in the 2019 election more transparent, and with it have shared the issues Canadian users will be required to prove their identity to advertise about.

Along with ads about candidates, parties or elected posts, advertisers in Canada will have to be authorized to post ads on Facebook about civil and social rights, the economy, environmental politics, health, immigration, political values and governance, and security and foreign policy.

To become authorized to post ads about these topics, users have to pass a series of verification tests that are largely based on ensuring that the advertisers, whether it be an individual or organization, are from Canada.

The issues Facebook has identified as “Canada-specific” aren’t very different from — but also aren’t identical to — issues the social media company has declared as being important enough to require user-authorization in the European Union (EU).

Unlike in Canada, users don’t have to be authorized in the EU to advertise about health or governance.

The United States, the only other jurisdiction where Facebook requires authorization for issue-specific ads, has a more extensive list of issues. On top of issues including civil rights, the economy, health, immigration, the environment and foreign policy, the company also requires advertiser authorization to make paid posts about the following issues: abortion, budget, crime, education, energy, government reform, guns, infrastructure, military, poverty, social security, taxes, terrorism and values.

Facebook says it will continually assess issues in Canada it deems necessary to enforce stricter advertising rules around. Facebook employs a five-person advisory group to shape these issues: Megan Leslie, former NDP deputy leader; Antonia Maioni, dean of McGill University’s faculty of arts; Ry Moran, executive director of the University of Manitoba’s Truth and Reconciliation Centre; Ray Novak, chief of staff to former prime minister Stephen Harper; and David Zussman, adjunct professor of the University of Victoria’s school of public administration.

Its list of Canada-specific issues could change before the election.

The issue-specific advertising is one aspect of Facebook’s Ad Library, which it introduced in Canada in response to changes to election laws made by Bill C-76, the Liberals’ election overhaul. Other changes made by Facebook include required “paid for by” disclaimers on ads, as well as a new ad bank that will keep political ads public for seven years after they’re posted.

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