FEC Gets the Ball Rolling on Online Political Ads Rules

The Federal Election Commission wants the public to weigh in on proposals that would shed light on the people buying political ads on Facebook, Google and other online platforms. The commission unanimously voted to release two proposals that would expand disclosure requirements for internet political ads for public comment. The new regulations—the first update to online political advertising rules since 2006–would require web platforms to disclose who paid for any “express advocacy” ads, which call on viewers to vote for or against a specific candidate.

The proposed rulemaking comes after investigations revealed Russian actors purchased thousands of ads on Facebook and Twitter in an effort to interfere with the 2016 presidential election. Though current laws already require online ads to include disclaimers, the rules for how those disclaimers should look remain ambiguous. As such, different websites treat political ads in different ways. “The point of this rulemaking is to provide even more clarity, because obviously technology has changed,” FEC Chair Caroline Hunter said. Both proposals would require all ads to include disclaimers, but they differ on how much information those disclaimers must contain.