Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) deputy chief privacy officer, Rob Sherman revealed that the social media giant will not reveal any data about political campaign advertising.

Sherman revealed this during an interview on Wednesday when he was asked about political ads. He stated that the company would not reveal any information regarding political campaign advertising, especially data regarding the number of users that click on the ads. The firm will also not reveal whether the ad messages are consistent throughout the different demographics.

The information to remain confidential as part of corporate policy

There have been arguments by political scientists who have been requesting the data for research purposes. The information required by the political scientists includes what the messages were, how many people they reached, where they were seen and how much money was spent on them. Facebook stated that the information would not be disclosed as part of maintaining corporate policy.

“Advertisers consider their ad creatives and their ad targeting strategy to be competitively sensitive and confidential,” stated Sherman.

Sherman also added that most of the requests made by advertisers especially on political ads is that their details as well as how the ad campaigns are being handled by Facebook would remain confidential. It thus applies to the company’s privacy policy since it is considered confidential information. The Facebook executive also made it clear that the firm was trying to employ consistent policies throughout the board and political advertising was not going to be an exception.

Political scientists had argued that such information would encourage accountability through an analysis of transparency, whether an election system is fair and up to par as well as how the candidates compete for votes. They also stated that transparency can discourage fraudulent ads. Professor Michael Franz of Bowdoin College stated that researchers do not currently have the capacity to track such data and this makes it quite difficult to understand the dynamics of political campaign advertising on the social network. Prior to the rise of social media. Political advertising that relied on TV and broadcasters in the U.S. were required to disclose ad details.

Facebook stock closed the latest trading session on Thursday at $153.40.