Google tightens political ad rules ahead of Europe elections

LONDON (AP) - Google is expanding stricter requirements for political advertising to the European Union as part of efforts to curb misinformation and increase transparency ahead of the bloc's elections next year.

The U.S. tech giant said Thursday that it will require any political advertisement to disclose who is paying for it while also tightening up its identity verification process for ad buyers.

Google will also publish an EU election ads transparency report and a library of political ads that anyone can search for more information on buyers, their target audience, and how the money is spent.

It's an extension of a system Google brought in this year for U.S. political ads.

Facebook introduced a similar system of its own for the U.S., Brazil and Britain earlier this year.