Facebook backs US political advertising bill, sets limits on 'issue ads'

Zuckerberg is scheduled to appear on Tuesday before a joint hearing of two U.S. Senate committees, and on Wednesday before a U.S. House committee

Facebook Inc backed for the first time on Friday proposed legislation requiring social media sites to disclose the identities of buyers of online political campaign ads and introduced a new verification process for people buying “issue” ads, which have been used to sow discord online.

The change in stance, announced in a Facebook post by Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, comes a few days before he is scheduled to answer questions in congressional hearings about how the company handles its users’ data.

The steps are designed to deter the kind of election meddling and online information warfare that U.S.