Complete Story
09/25/2017
Senate bill would make online political ads more transparent
Legislation floated by two Democratic senators would enhance transparency for online political ads, requiring social media companies like Facebook and Twitter to keep a public file of election ads and communications.
The bill by Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota would try to fill what they call a “major gap” in election advertising transparency. In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the two say the legislation would also require companies to “make reasonable efforts” to ensure that election ads are not purchased directly or indirectly by a foreign national.
The letter was sent Thursday, the same day that Facebook said it will provide the contents of 3,000 ads bought by a Russian agency to congressional investigators and make political advertising on its platform more transparent.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his company will require political ads to disclose who is paying for them. Warner and Klobuchar said their bill would “formalize, and expand” what Facebook has promised, bringing regulation of online electioneering more in line with broadcast and print advertising. Federal regulations now require television and radio stations to make publicly available the details of political ads they air. That includes who purchased the ad, when it runs and how much it costs.
The legislation would require digital platforms with 1 million or more users to maintain the file of electioneering communications purchased by a group or person spending more than $10,000 on online political ads. The file would also include copies of the ads, a description of the audience targeted, the number of views generated and other relevant information.