Facebook restricts campaigners’ ability to check ads for political transparency

Social media network says the change was part of crackdown on third party plug-ins

Facebook has restricted the ability of external political transparency campaigners to monitor adverts placed on the social network, in a move described as an "appalling look" by one of the organisations affected.

WhoTargetsMe, a British group dedicated to scrutinising adverts on the social network, has said its activities have been severely restricted by recent changes made by the social network. The change has also hit a similar programme by the US investigative journalism site ProPublica, affecting both groups' ability to collect data on why users are being targeted by political campaigners.