The news: Meta will restrict US ads on politics, elections, and social issues ahead of the 2026 US midterms, the company announced Tuesday. The restriction, which Meta first implemented ahead of the 2020 election, will run from October 27 through 11:59pm PT on November 3.

• Existing ads can continue running during the restricted period if they were created with a valid disclaimer and received an impression before 12:01am PT on October 27.
• Ads requiring a disclaimer can still be adjusted during the restriction period to change the bid amount, budget, or scheduled end date.

Why it matters: The restriction creates a hard deadline for political advertisers to get campaigns approved and running before the midterm blackout begins. That matters especially given Meta’s dominance in social network political advertising.

Meta will account for 88% of social network political ad revenues in 2026, per our forecast. With such a large share of ad dollars flowing to Meta, advertisers running campaigns closer to Election Day will have few channels that can replicate Meta’s reach and targeting during the restriction period.