Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total spent by Government departments on Facebook advertising in the past year; and whether they have plans to join a boycott of major advertisers pending Facebook’s change of policy on hate speech and disinformation.

The UK Government is a significant advertiser on Facebook. Social media platforms enable departments and agencies to connect with citizens and businesses to communicate about important policies and help drive behaviour change, including in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Government is in correspondence with Facebook seeking reassurances and action on various points. Individual departments are responsible for their own advertising expenditure delivered in line with a centrally agreed approach coordinated by the Cabinet Office.