Facebook and Google: This is What an Effective Ad Archive API Looks Like

Mozilla and a cohort of independent researchers have detailed the key traits that make for an effective ad archive API — and more transparent elections

On March 28 — after urging from dozens of civil society organizations — Facebook is set to launch its advertising archive API. This tool is intended to provide researchers, journalists, and users with transparency into political ads and audience targeting on Facebook.

Google also pledged to launch a similar tool ahead of the May 2019 EU Parliamentary elections (but postponed their initial March launch date.) As disinformation continues to spread across online platforms with the potential to interfere with democratic elections, it’s critical that these tools are accessible and effective.

So today, Mozilla and a cohort of 11 independent researchers are publishing five guidelines that these APIs must meet in order to truly support election influence monitoring and independent research.

Read more at Mozilla Blog