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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 ads served by Snap, including election-related ads, advocacy ads, and issue ads.

  • 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 ads are ads concerning issues or organizations that are the subject of debate on a local, national, or global level, or of public importance. Examples include: ads 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 ad that is followed by the name of the paying person or entity. Snap may also require a “paid for by” disclosure on ad content that links to political content, ad content for political merchandise, or in other cases in Snap’s sole discretion. In the United States, electoral ads must state whether or not the ad was authorized by a candidate or organization, and election ads not authorized by the candidate must include contact information for the sponsoring organization. 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, among 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” ads; expressing disagreement with or campaigning against a candidate or party is generally permissible if it meets our other guidelines. That said, political ads 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 ads for state or municipal elections or ballot initiatives in Washington state.

Snap’s rights

Snap will review political ads 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 ads that we believe violate the standards listed above or that are otherwise inappropriate. Our discretion will never be exercised with the intent to favor or disfavor 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 ads 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.