As November 3 gets closer, election ads are almost impossible to avoid. And this year, we’re seeing more of them than ever online, peppered throughout our Facebook timelines, Google searches, and in Hulu videos. Some of them may not apply to you, but all of them — like every other online ad — are targeting you.
If you want to find out how or why you’re being targeted, good luck. Most answers are hidden beneath layers of ad technology and data collection that tech companies aren’t legally required to disclose. And unlike TV, print, and mailed political ads, which can’t target you nearly as well and are regulated by Federal Election (FEC) and the Federal Communications (FCC) Commissions, the online political ad world is largely unregulated. That means it’s up to companies like Facebook and Google to make their own rules governing the deluge of political ads we’re all seeing, and there’s no guarantee they’ll make decisions that protect our democracy.
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Source: How political ads on Facebook, Google, and streaming services work – Vox