House-Senate Bill Would Regulate Online Political Ads
It's time online platforms follow advertising disclosure rules long imposed on TV and radio, Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Mark Warner, D-Va., said in a news conference announcing bipartisan, bicameral legislation, as expected (see 1710180027). Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., supports the bill, which would require identification of ad purchases higher than $500 on platforms with at least 50 million monthly users. The Honest Ads Act “would prevent foreign actors from influencing our elections,” a McCain statement said. Reps. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., and Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., introduced companion House legislation.
“Americans deserve to know who is paying for the online ads,” Klobuchar said, citing Pew Research reports 65 percent of people get election information from online platforms, up from 18 percent in 2006. The “same rules should apply to online platforms” that traditional media companies have followed for years, Warner and Klobuchar said. Online platforms have been slow to acknowledge the problem, Warner said, “but they’re moving in the right direction.” The companies have to adapt, Klobuchar said, expressing confidence that “there is a way to fix this.” When pressed whether the companies would try to stop the legislation, Klobuchar said, “I’m not going to tell you they support this bill” now but they are responding.
"We look forward to engaging with Congress and the FEC on these issues,” a Twitter spokesperson emailed. Facebook and Google didn't comment. Facebook sought guidance from the Federal Election Commission on political ad disclosures in a 2011 letter, which said the commission's treatment of online political advertising "has been unclear -- to sellers of online advertising, to political committees" and to Congress. The FEC recently reopened its comment cycle on disclosure rules, setting a Nov. 9 deadline, after which it will publish input from the public, a spokeswoman said.
The legislation would amend the 2002 Campaign Reform Act of definition of electioneering communication to include paid internet and digital ads. It would require platforms keep a digital copy of the promotion, a description of the target audience, number of views generated, rates charged and contact information of the purchaser. Online platforms also would have to make “all reasonable efforts” to ensure that foreign entities are not buying political ads to influence the American electorate. The bill would require all broadcast, radio or digital ad platforms to “make reasonable efforts" to ensure the foreign participation ban isn't violated. If platforms fail to comply, they would face FEC penalties.
Lawmakers are concerned about reported instances of Russian meddling in U.S. elections through online ad buys, said a bill summary. The legislation got supportive statements from groups including Campaign Legal Center, Sunlight Foundation, Issue One, Brennan Center for Justice, Common Cause and Public Citizen.
“The 2016 elections exposed glaring holes in our ability to police foreign intervention in US elections, and this bill is an appropriate, bipartisan disclosure remedy,” said a statement by Trevor Potter, president of Campaign Legal Center and a former Republican FEC chairman. The Brennan Center's Democracy Program praised lawmakers spearheading the legislation for "reaching across partisan lines," said Deputy Director Lawrence Norden. Common Cause called the measure a "critical step" needed to improve transparency in political advertising.
Klobuchar and Warner expressed confidence momentum will build in coming weeks to propel the legislation. “A number of members have talked with us about the bill,” Klobuchar said. “We’ve been able to convince a lot of people that this is the right thing.”
Free Press Policy Counsel Gaurav Laroia said the bill is a "necessary first step" toward protecting against abuse of social media and online platforms. TechFreedom said the legislation raises First Amendment concerns. "Just because the FCC has regulated broadcast advertising for issue advocacy doesn’t mean the same regulation would be constitutional online," President Berin Szóka's statement said. "The bill’s goals are laudable, but the complications it raises illustrate just how difficult it would be to craft new legislation to counter foreign influence on our elections."