Britain’s election watchdog weighs in on social media ads

Regulators should be able to force social media companies to take down certain posts and levy significant fines, the chief executive of Britain’s Electoral Commission has said.

Claire Bassett said a combination of self-regulation and beefed up powers for agencies like her own would help to address the growing public unease about the influence of targeted advertising on social media platforms during elections and referendums.

During the recent abortion referendum, Google took the ...