Facebook is lifting its political ad ban for the Georgia runoffs

When polls closed on Election Day 2020, Facebook placed a bar on political ads on the platform. That ban is still in place, but is set to be lifted Wednesday specifically for ads targeting Georgians, Axios reports.

Narrow results in both of Georgia's Senate races last month forced them into runoffs, with Democrat Jon Ossoff challenging Sen. David Perdue (R) and Democrat Raphael Warnock looking to unseat Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R) in a special election. Hundreds of millions of dollars are already being spent on the races that will determine which party controls the Senate, but have so far been funneled into local channels because of Facebook and Google's bans on political ads.

That could change starting Wednesday, when campaigns and political groups already authorized to buy ads on Facebook can begin doing so again, but only if they target Georgia voters. It will also quickly look to authorize ad buys from groups and campaigns relating to the special elections. Those buys will likely be more valuable to campaigns than general TV ads, as on Facebook, campaigns can tailor ads to specific audiences. Early voting started Monday in Georgia, and has already seen record turnout.

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Facebook's move was first reported last week, but the site didn't confirm the news to advertisers until Tuesday. Meanwhile Google lifted its post-election ad ban last Thursday to allow for advertising in the Senate runoffs.