- Twitter will clearly label political ads and require campaigns and organizations to disclose who bought the ad and how much they spent.
- A new "transparency center" will have a database of all ads currently running on the platform, with more disclosures for political ads.
- The new rules come as Twitter and other social platforms are under scrutiny from lawmakers for allowing Russian interference through online political ads during the 2016 election.
One weapon in the battle against foreign interference in our elections has just become law in California and will go into effect on January 1, 2018. The California Disclose Act requires that political ads on electronic media must clearly show who is really paying for them. An online political ad will have to Include the question “Who funded this ad?” linked to a website containing the answer. The law also specifies the size of the question (no less than an 8 point font) and color (contrasting). leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/...
In 2011 the Federal Election Commission wanted Facebook to follow the usual regulations re political ads, but the company resisted. Facebook claimed that its ads were too small for the type of disclosure required on TV and print ads. It also argued that the ads should not have to link to a page revealing the ads’ sponsors. www.bna.com/...
Now, following recent reports that Russian-linked political ads and posts on Facebook may have swung the election, Facebook will probably have to disclose more information about who is funding its political ads. On September 14, the Federal Election Commission voted unanimously to reopen a public comment period regarding online ad disclaimers. Until that vote, Republican and Democratic commissioners had been divided over whether new rules are needed. www.bna.com/…
On October 3 TheFresno Bee wrote emphatically that new rules are needed: “Tech companies need to change the way they operate, and Congress needs to enact laws to make sure those changes happen.”The editors also said:
Not only did fake news probably influence voters, but the proliferation of it was a highly coordinated affair, with Russian operatives buying targeted political ads, and creating bots and fake user accounts to spread discord among the electorate on a number of social media platforms run by California companies. We’re looking at you, Facebook and Twitter.
These revelations, which have trickled out over the past few weeks, should shake every American to his or her core….
Our democracy is at stake. www.fresnobee.com/...
Disclosure of the true funders of online political ads might have changed the 2016 election results. If people had known that an ad was funded by a Russian group, would they have let the ad influence their vote?