Facebook’s attempt to prevent the social media platform from being used (by the Russians or others) to spread disinformation aimed at influencing U.S. election, is too little too late in the estimation of many Americans. But, in the opinion of some illegal alien advocates, reports the Washington Times, the policy is discriminatory. “Facebook’s constantly evolving ad-buying policies discriminate against immigrants based on their citizenship status, effectively silencing organizations that are led by already marginalized people,” complains Isabel Sousa-Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the Florida Immigration Coalition.
Under Facebook’s new policy, buying a political ad now requires a U.S. government-issue ID, a verifiable U.S. address, and a valid Social Security number. See the problem there? Illegal aliens don’t have valid Social Security numbers, meaning that they will be discriminated against if they attempt to buy a political ad on Facebook.
Oddly, the requirement to purchase a political ad on Facebook is actually more stringent than the requirement to register to vote or cast a vote in most places, where neither an ID, nor a verifiable address, nor a Social Security number is needed. But that’s another matter.
Oh, and just in case you might think the opponents of Facebook’s new policy are only worried about the ability of illegal aliens to purchase political ads, opponents of the policy also warn that it “could even snare U.S. citizens, usually older and poorer and often minorities, who don’t have a driver’s license or passport.” This could be a huge problem because, let’s face it, there are a lot of poor people and folks who can’t figure out how to get a government ID who might want to run political ads on Facebook.