Jakarta, March 5: Facebook says it will not allow election advertisements for Indonesia's upcoming presidential election that are purchased from outside the country.

The announcement on Facebook's website says the restriction took effect Monday morning and is part of "safeguarding election integrity on our platform."

Facebook has been criticised for allowing foreign interests to use its site to disseminate ads that may have influenced the outcomes of the last US presidential election and the UK referendum on leaving the European Union.

The social media company said it's using a mix of automated and human intervention to identify foreign-funded election ads. Indonesia, the world's third-largest democracy, votes for president on April 17. The campaign pits incumbent leader Joko Widodo against former general Prabowo Subianto.