Facebook and Google to reportedly keep political ad bans in place for several weeks

A winner may have been projected in the 2020 presidential election, but Facebook and Google aren't lifting their bans on political ads just yet.

Facebook has told advertisers it will continue banning political advertising for "another month" in order to "help prevent confusion or abuse on our platform," The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Google also plans to keep its political ad ban going and has told some advertisers it isn't likely to lift it in November or December, the Journal says.

Facebook previously announced that it would "temporarily stop running all social issue, electoral or political ads in the U.S. after the polls close on Nov. 3, to reduce opportunities for confusion or abuse." Google also said it would ban ads related to the election after polls closed to "limit the potential for ads to increase confusion post-election."

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Though the presidential race has been called for President-elect Joe Biden by major media outlets, President Trump has yet to concede the race and is challenging the results in battleground states. Republicans and Democrats are also gearing up for crucial Georgia runoff elections in January that will determine which party controls the Senate. But Politico notes that the Facebook ad ban extension "will limit the Georgia campaigns' ability to raise money and mobilize support," and HuffPost's Kevin Robillard argues it will be "essentially handing an advantage" to the two Republican candidates.