Twitter introduces new political ad rules

San Francisco: Twitter has announced new guidelines for political advertisements on its platform, asking advertisers who wish to target the US with political campaigning ads to file for certification and adhere to fresh rules.

"In addition to Twitter Ads policies, all political advertisers must comply with applicable laws regarding disclosure and content requirements, eligibility restrictions, and blackout dates for the countries where they advertise," the micro-blogging platform said in a blog post late Thursday.

The policy applies to ads purchased by a political committee or candidate registered with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) or ads advocating for or against a clearly identified candidate for Federal office in the US.

Foreign nationals are prohibited from targeting political campaigning advertisements to the US, Twitter said.

The Twitter handle associated with the certified ads account must provide profile photo, header photo and the website must be consistent with the Twitter handle's online presence.

"Bio must include a website that provides valid contact info. If the handle name is not related to the certified entity, the bio must include the following disclaimer: ‘Owned by (certified entity name)'," said Twitter.