Facebook pauses political spending in wake of Capitol attack

Facebook is halting its political spending for at least the first quarter of 2021 in the wake of last week’s violent insurrection at the Capitol.

“Following last week’s awful violence in D.C., we are pausing all of our PAC contributions for at least the current quarter while we review our policies,” company spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed to The Hill Monday.

The decision comes as many companies face pressure to pause donations for lawmakers who boosted or amplified the President Trump’s false claims that the November election was rigged and stolen.

Microsoft on Monday also announced plans to pause its political contributions.

Microsoft told Axios, which first reported the Facebook ad freeze, that its PAC “regularly pauses its donations in the first quarter of a new Congress, but it will take additional steps this year to consider these recent events and consult with employees.”

Banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are reportedly suspending PAC activity as well following Wednesday’s mob violence at the Capitol that left five people dead.