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Facebook temporarily removes Elizabeth Warren's ads calling for breakup of Facebook

The social network says it pulled down the ads for using Facebook's corporate logo.

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Queenie Wong Former Senior Writer
Queenie Wong was a senior writer for CNET News, focusing on social media companies including Facebook's parent company Meta, Twitter and TikTok. Before joining CNET, she worked for The Mercury News in San Jose and the Statesman Journal in Salem, Oregon. A native of Southern California, she took her first journalism class in middle school.
Expertise I've been writing about social media since 2015 but have previously covered politics, crime and education. I also have a degree in studio art. Credentials
  • 2022 Eddie award for consumer analysis
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Queenie Wong
2 min read
Elizabeth Warren is interviewed live on stage on March 9 during the 2019 SXSW Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas.

Elizabeth Warren is interviewed live on stage on Saturday during the 2019 SXSW Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas. 

 Jim Bennett/Getty Images

Facebook pulled down, but then restored, some of the ads placed by the campaign of presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren that called for the breakup of Facebook, Amazon and Google. 

"We removed the ads because they violated our policies against use of our corporate logo," a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement Monday. "In the interest of allowing robust debate, we are restoring the ads."

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This ad placed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren was temporarily pulled down by Facebook.

 Screenshot from Facebook's ad archive

The Democratic lawmaker from Massachusetts announced her plan last week to break up the tech giants, arguing in a blog post that they've "hurt small businesses and stifled innovation."

Facebook, which has more than 2 billion users around the world, owns other popular tech platforms, including photo-sharing site Instagram and messaging app WhatsApp, and Warren has argued the company has become too powerful. 

Politico first spotted the removal of Warren's ads on Monday and reported that three of them had been pulled down for violating Facebook's rules. 

"Three companies have vast power over our economy and our democracy. Facebook, Amazon, and Google," the ads read. "We all use them. But in their rise to power, they've bulldozed competition, used our private information for profit, and tilted the playing field in their favor."

Not all of Warren's presidential campaign ads were affected. Facebook's database of political ads show that the ads are currently running on the social network. 

Warren's office pointed to a tweet from the senator when asked for a comment.

Originally published March 11 at 5:00 p.m.
Updated at 5:16 p.m.: Includes tweet from Sen. Warren.