Facebook Plans To Use US Mail To Verify IDs of Election Ad Buyers (reuters.com)

Facebook will start using postcards sent by U.S. mail later this year to verify the identities and location of people who want to purchase U.S. election-related advertising on its site, a senior company executive said on Saturday. From a report: The postcard verification is Facebook's latest effort to respond to criticism from lawmakers, security experts and election integrity watchdog groups that it and other social media companies failed to detect and later responded slowly to Russia's use of their platforms to spread divisive political content, including disinformation, during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Comments

Better idea

[The Cynical Critic]

Hey Facebook! Here's a better idea: Don't allow any election ads in the first place.

I know being a company you want all the business you can get, but sometimes it may actually be for the common good that you don't try to squeeze every penny out of everything you can squeeze.

Riiiiiiiiight

[Anonymous Coward]

Cause the money-laundering Russian mafia isn't gonna simply pivot and start laundering postcards as well...

"I make 5K a week working from home! Want to know my secret?"

Well, at least Facebook can say they really are creating jobs now.

This is literally the dumbest fucking thing i've heard this week. And its technically a new week! Seriously, Facebook really does need to hire a 5 year old to sit on their board and any flaws in the plans they make he points out should result in the entire plan being scrapped for sheer stupidity and the person who came up with the plan should be beaten with a rubber hose and then fired.

Re:Give information

[JaredOfEuropa]

Ivan will simply find a sucker to take out the ad for him, for a small fee. This is feel good fake news security theatre.

Re:Give information

[DNS-and-BIND]

Facebook VP: "The Majority Of Russian Ad Spend Happened AFTER The Election"

"many of these ads did not violate our content policies. That means that for most of them, if they had been run by authentic individuals, anywhere, they could have remained on the platform."

"Shouldn't you stop foreigners from meddling in US social issues?
The right to speak out on global issues that cross borders is an important principle. Organizations such as UNICEF, Oxfam or religious organizations depend on the ability to communicate â" and advertise â" their views in a wide range of countries. While we may not always agree with the positions of those who would speak on issues here, we believe in their right to do so â" just as we believe in the right of Americans to express opinions on issues in other countries."