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Snap political and advocacy advertising policies

Snapchat empowers self-expression, including about politics. But political advertising that appears on Snapchat has to be transparent, lawful and right for our users.

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Requirements

These Political Advertising Policies apply to all political advertising served by Snap, including election-related advertisements, advocacy advertisements and issue advertisements.

  • Election-related ads include ads about or paid for by candidates or parties for public office, ballot measures or referendums, political action committees, and ads that urge people to vote or register to vote.

  • Advocacy or issue advertisements are advertisements concerning issues or organisations that are the subject of debate on a local, national or global level, or of public importance. Examples include: advertisements about abortion, immigration, the environment, education, discrimination and guns.

Political advertising must comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including all national election laws and campaign finance laws, copyright law, defamation law, and (where applicable) Federal Election Commission regulations and state or local laws and regulations. Complying with those laws and regulations will be the sole responsibility of the advertiser.

All political advertising must include a “paid for by” message in the advertisement that is followed by the name of the paying person or entity. Snap may also require a “paid for by” disclosure on advertisement content that links to political content, advertisement content for political merchandise or in other cases at Snap's sole discretion. In the United States, electoral advertisements must state whether the advertisement was authorised by a candidate or organisation; election advertisements not authorised by the candidate must include contact information for the sponsoring organisation. These disclaimers vary by jurisdiction. Advertisers must ensure that each ad complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding “paid for by” disclaimers.

Like all ads on Snapchat, political ads must comply with Snap's Terms of Service, Community Guidelines, and our Advertising Policies. That means, amongst other things:

  • No content that harasses, intimidates or threatens.

  • No content that is misleading, deceptive, impersonates any person or entity, or otherwise misrepresents your affiliation with a person or entity.

  • No content that violates the publicity, privacy, copyright or other intellectual property rights of a third party.

  • No content that features graphic violence or calls for violence.

We encourage political advertisers to be positive. But we don't categorically ban “attack” advertisements; expressing disagreement with or campaigning against a candidate or party is generally permissible if it meets our other guidelines. That said, political advertisements must not include attacks relating to a candidate's personal life.

Geo-specific Requirements

Canada

In Canada, Snap does not permit “partisan advertising” or “election advertising” (as defined by the Canada Elections Act, as amended from time to time (the “Act”)) purchased directly or indirectly on behalf of an eligible party, registered association, nomination contestant, potential or actual candidate or a third party required to register under subsection 349.6(1) or 353(1) of the Act. This may include (without limitation) content that promotes or opposes any of these individuals/groups, or an issue associated with any of those individuals/groups.

Washington State

In the US, Snap does not currently permit advertisements for state or municipal elections or ballot initiatives in Washington state. 

Snap’s rights

Snap will review political advertisements on a case-by-case basis. To get started, please fill out our political advertiser form.

We reserve the right to reject, in our sole discretion, or request modifications to advertisements that we believe violate the standards listed above or that are otherwise inappropriate. Our discretion will never be exercised with the intent to favour or disfavour any candidate, political view or political party.

We also reserve the right to require substantiation of an advertiser’s factual claims.

Snap may publicly display and otherwise disclose information relating to political advertising, including ad content, targeting details, delivery, spend and other campaign information.

Political Advertising by Foreign Nationals or Entities

Political advertisements served by Snap may not be paid for directly or indirectly by foreign nationals or entities, as those terms are defined by relevant law -- in other words, by people or entities that aren’t residents of the country where the ad will run. There is a limited exception to this prohibition for political ads targeting any Member State of the European Union (EU), which may be paid for directly or indirectly by entities residing in another EU Member State. Snap does not engage in political activities, nor does it serve as a political consultant, publicity agent, or public-relations counsel, on behalf of any foreign principal. By placing an advertisement, the advertiser acknowledges that Snap reserves the right to limit the services it provides, at its sole discretion, to avoid engaging in such activities.