Inexcusable tardiness from Facebook and Google

Tech giants should have been ahead of this and not needed the world at large to make them move

Fears over electoral interference shouldn’t have been required for Facebook and Google to clamp down on ads around the Eighth Amendment referendum. Pic: Getty

It’s been quite the week in the digital world’s interaction with the real one. Fresh off staring down lots of questions around Cambridge Analytica and entering the world of online dating, Facebook has taken steps to prevent ads related to the referendum on the Eighth Amendment from groups outside of Ireland appearing on its services.

A day after Facebook’s announcement, Google doubled down by announcing it would remove all ads related to the ...