Democratic Representatives push FEC for tougher action on foreign election meddling

Democratic Reps are pushing the Federal Elections Commission to take more aggressive action in curbing foreign influence in US elections.  Eighteen members of Congress led by Democracy Reform Task Force Chair Rep John Sarbanes (D-MD) urged the FEC in a letter on Nov 9 to treat political advertisements on social media platforms in the same way that it treats TV or radio ads. Rep Sarbanes and company argued that with such measures in place, foreign manipulation of social media platforms during the 2016 U.S. election would not have happened.  “There is reason to believe that if we had a more effective disclaimer regime for political internet advertisements during the 2016 election cycle, a portion of the illicit foreign campaign spending might have been prevented,” the lawmakers wrote.