Meta Platforms will end political, election and social issue advertising on its platform in the EU in early October, blaming legal uncertainties due to new EU rules on political advertising, the U.S.

Meta's reasoning for banning political, electoral, and social issue ads mirrors Google's when it decided to do the same thing in November. According to Google's explanation at the time, "new operational challenges and legal uncertainties for political advertisers and platforms" under the TTPA were too tough to bother complying with.

The rules are part of Brussels' wider efforts to counter foreign influence and manipulation in elections, and dovetail with the bloc's other regulations designed to protect citize

Chinese President Xi Jinping criticised Brussels's recent trade actions against Beijing at a tense summit dominated by concerns on trade and the Ukraine war.

An EU-China summit in Beijing wrapped up early on Thursday amid rising tensions, despite efforts to foster cooperation on trade, climate, and global stability.