TURNING OFF THE TAP

Facebook Stops Paying Commission to Staff Who Sell Political Ads

The company hopes staff will no longer have an incentive to sell as many ads as possible as it prepares for the 2020 elections.

Facebook has stopped paying commissions to staffers who sell political ads in a move that it hopes will remove the incentive to sell as many possible. The social-media giant has been scrambling to change its relationship with politics ahead of the 2020 presidential election after its handling of the 2016 contest caused severe damage to its reputation on privacy and the proliferation of misleading news. The Wall Street Journal reports company leaders discussed getting rid of political ads entirely, but founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg chose a softer approach. Facebook staffers will no longer be paid based on reaching or exceeding goals related to ads purchased, said Katie Harbath, Facebook’s global elections public-policy director. The team will also no longer offer advice to the campaigns on how to advertise—it will just help campaigns register to buy ads and provide other basic customer service.