Facebook uproar: Should personal data drive political ads?

In 2014, when Thom Tillis was a North Carolina legislator seeking election to the US Senate, some of his campaign ads were customized using what was then an unconventional technique.

Drawing on information volunteered by Facebook users who took online psychological quizzes, campaign consultants formed personality profiles of individual voters, and designed ads accordingly.

For people who scored high on being “agreeable,” an ad featured Mr. Tillis himself, smiling, with the message “restore common sense in Washington.” For personalities deemed “conscientious,” ads sent online and by mail featured people at a job site, including one in a hard hat, and said the Republican candidate had “the experience to get the economy working.” A third showed what appeared to be a soldier’s camouflage-smeared face, and said of Tillis: “Your safety is his top priority.”

That last one was aimed at those who score high

Calls for transparency The exception or the rule?Possible sea changeFew guidelines