Facebook restores Elizabeth Warren's ads criticizing the platform after they were removed from the site
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Facebook was forced to backtrack after it removed ads placed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign that called for the breakup of the social network and other Big Tech companies.
Warren's ads, which were reportedly limited in size and reach, touted her plan announced last week to undo "anti-competitive" tech mergers, including Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram, and break up other tech giants like Amazon and Google.
A Facebook spokesperson initially explained that the Democratic presidential candidate's ads were removed because they violated the company's policies regarding its corporate logo, but then seemed to backtrack saying, "In the interest of allowing robust debate, we are restoring the ads.”
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The Massachusetts senator hit back at the social network, tweeting: "Curious why I think FB has too much power? Let's start with their ability to shut down a debate over whether FB has too much power. Thanks for restoring my posts. But I want a social media marketplace that isn't dominated by a single censor."
Facebook restored the advertisements after Politico reported on the takedown. The majority of Warren's other ads, also calling for tech giant to be broken up, were not taken down.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D, N.Y., took aim at Facebook in a Monday evening tweet that shared a story about the Warren ad takedown, slamming the social network as monopolistic.
Elizabeth Warren is interviewed live on stage during the 2019 SXSW Conference and Festival at the Moody Theater on March 09, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Getty Images)
"Just because a monopoly business happens to be online, that doesn’t mean it’s good," the freshman congresswoman tweeted. "Facebook may have its own problems, but it’s increasingly starting to look like our society (namely, our democracy) has a Facebook problem."
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Warren's proposal includes two methods of bringing competition back to the technology sector: passing legislation that deems Amazon, Facebook and Google as "platform utilities" as well as reversing previously approved mergers, which the senator has called "illegal and anti-competitive."
"Unwinding these mergers will promote healthy competition in the market — which will put pressure on big tech companies to be more responsive to user concerns, including about privacy," Warren wrote in her blog post announcing the proposal.
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A coalition of consumer organizations, along with one of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's early mentors, has already called for the social network to be broken up or stringently regulated.
Fox News reached out to Facebook for comment.
Fox News' Chris Ciaccia contributed to this report.
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