Honest Ads Act
This bill applies requirements, limitations, and protections regarding political advertising in traditional media to paid internet or digital political advertising. The bill sets forth special rules for disclosure statements for certain internet or digital ads.
Each television or radio station, provider of cable or satellite television, or online platform must ensure that the political advertising it hosts is not directly or indirectly purchased by a foreign national.
The bill outlines political record requirements for online platforms, including by requiring these platforms to publish a record of any qualified political advertisement purchased by a person whose aggregate purchases of qualified political advertisements on the platform during the calendar year exceeds $500.
Additionally, these online platforms must display notices with online political advertisements that identify the sponsor of the advertisement.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2599 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2599
To enhance transparency and accountability for online political
advertisements by requiring those who purchase and publish such ads to
disclose information about the advertisements to the public, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 13, 2023
Mr. Kilmer (for himself and Mr. Gallagher) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To enhance transparency and accountability for online political
advertisements by requiring those who purchase and publish such ads to
disclose information about the advertisements to the public, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Honest Ads Act''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this subtitle is to enhance the integrity of
American democracy and national security by improving disclosure
requirements for online political advertisements in order to uphold the
Supreme Court's well-established standard that the electorate bears the
right to be fully informed.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) In 2002, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002
(Public Law 107-155) became law, establishing disclosure
requirements for political advertisements distributed from a
television or radio broadcast station or provider of cable or
satellite television. In 2003, the Supreme Court upheld
regulations on electioneering communications established under
the Act, noting that such requirements ``provide the electorate
with information and insure that the voters are fully informed
about the person or group who is speaking.''. The Court
reaffirmed this conclusion in 2010 by an 8-1 vote.
(2) In its 2006 rulemaking, the Federal Election
Commission, the independent Federal agency charged with
protecting the integrity of the Federal campaign finance
process, noted that 18 percent of all Americans cited the
internet as their leading source of news about the 2004
Presidential election. By contrast, Gallup and the Knight
Foundation found in 2020 that the majority of Americans, 58
percent, got most of their news about elections online.
(3) According to studies from AdImpact and Borrell
Associates, in 2020, an estimated $1,700,000,000 was spent on
online political advertising, more than 10 times the amount
spent in 2012.
(4) In order to enhance transparency of all political
advertisement funding, it is prudent to extend to online
internet platforms the same types of political advertisement
disclosure requirements applicable to broadcast television and
radio stations, and providers of cable and satellite
television.
(5) Effective and complete transparency for voters must
include information about the true and original source of money
given, transferred, and spent on political advertisements made
online.
(6) Requiring the disclosure of this information is a
necessary and narrowly tailored means to inform the voting
public of who is behind digital advertising disseminated to
influence their votes and to enable the Federal Election
Commission and the Department of Justice to detect and
prosecute illegal foreign spending on local, State, and Federal
elections and other campaign finance violations.
(7) Paid advertising on large online platforms is different
from advertising placed on other common media in terms of the
comparatively low cost of reaching large numbers of people, the
availability of sophisticated microtargeting, and the ease with
which online advertisers, particularly those located outside
the United States, can evade disclosure requirements. Requiring
large online platforms to maintain public files of information
about the online political ads they disseminate is the best and
least restrictive means to ensure the voting public has
complete information about who is trying to influence their
votes and to aid enforcement of other laws, including the
prohibition on foreign money in domestic campaigns.
(8) The reach of a few large internet platforms--larger
than any broadcast, satellite, or cable provider--has greatly
facilitated the scope and effectiveness of disinformation
campaigns. For instance, the largest platform has over
247,000,000 American users--over 153,000,000 of them on a daily
basis. By contrast, the largest cable television provider has
16,142,000 subscribers, while the largest satellite television
provider has 13,300,000 subscribers. And the most-watched
television broadcast in United States history had 118,000,000
viewers.
(9) The public nature of broadcast television, radio, and
satellite ensures a level of publicity for any political
advertisement. These communications are accessible to the
press, fact-checkers, and political opponents. This creates
strong disincentives for a candidate to disseminate materially
false, inflammatory, or contradictory messages to the public.
Social media platforms, in contrast, can target portions of the
electorate with direct, ephemeral advertisements often on the
basis of private information the platform has on individuals,
enabling political advertisements that are contradictory,
racially or socially inflammatory, or materially false.
(10) Large social media platforms are the only entities in
possession of certain key data related to paid online ads,
including the exact audience targeted by those ads and their
number of impressions. Such information, which cannot be
reliably disclosed by the purchasers of ads, is extremely
useful for informing the electorate, guarding against
corruption, and aiding in the enforcement of existing campaign
finance regulations.
(11) Paid advertisements on social media platforms have
served as critical tools for foreign online influence
campaigns--even those that rely on large amounts of unpaid
content--because such ads allow foreign actors to test the
effectiveness of different messages, expose their messages to
audiences who have not sought out such content, and recruit
audiences for future campaigns and posts.
(12) A 2019 Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's
Report on Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in
the 2016 U.S. Election Volume 2: Russia's Use of Social Media
with Additional Views, the Committee recommended ``that
Congress examine legislative approaches to ensuring Americans
know the sources of online political advertisements. The
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 requires political
advertisements on television, radio and satellite to disclose
the sponsor of the advertisement. The same requirements should
apply online. This will also help to ensure that the IRA or any
similarly situated actors cannot use paid advertisements for
purposes of foreign interference.''.
(13) On March 16, 2021, the Office of the Director of
National Intelligence released the declassified Intelligence
Community assessment of foreign threats to the 2020 U.S.
Federal elections. The declassified report found: ``Throughout
the election cycle, Russia's online influence actors sought to
affect U.S. public perceptions of the candidates, as well as
advance Moscow's longstanding goals of undermining confidence
in US election processes and increasing sociopolitical
divisions among the American people.''. The report also
determined that Iran sought to influence the election by
``creating and amplifying social media content that criticized
[candidates].''
(14) According to a Wall Street Journal report in April
2021, voluntary ad libraries operated by major platforms rely
on foreign governments to self-report political ad purchases.
These ad-buys, including those diminishing major human rights
violations like the Uighur genocide, are under-reported by
foreign government purchasers, with no substantial oversight or
repercussions from the platforms.
(15) Multiple reports have indicated that online ads have
become a key vector for strategic influence by the People's
Republic of China. An April 2021 Wall Street Journal report
noted that the Chinese Government and Chinese state-owned
enterprises are major purchasers of ads on the U.S.'s largest
social media platform, including to advance Chinese propaganda.
(16) Large online platforms have made changes to their
policies intended to make it harder for foreign actors to
purchase political ads. However, these private actions have not
been taken by all platforms, have not been reliably enforced,
and are subject to immediate change at the discretion of the
platforms.
(17) The Federal Election Commission's current regulations
on political advertisements do not provide sufficient
transparency to uphold the public's right to be fully informed
about political advertisements made online.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the dramatic increase in digital political
advertisements, and the growing centrality of online platforms
in the lives of Americans, requires the Congress and the
Federal Election Commission to take meaningful action to ensure
that laws and regulations provide the accountability and
transparency that is fundamental to our democracy;
(2) free and fair elections require both transparency and
accountability which give the public a right to know the true
sources of funding for political advertisements, be they
foreign or domestic, in order to make informed political
choices and hold elected officials accountable; and
(3) transparency of funding for political advertisements is
essential to enforce other campaign finance laws, including the
prohibition on campaign spending by foreign nationals.
SEC. 5. EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
(a) In General.--Paragraph (22) of section 301 of the Federal
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(22)) is amended by
striking ``or satellite communication'' and inserting ``satellite, paid
internet, or paid digital communication''.
(b) Treatment of Contributions and Expenditures.--Section 301 of
such Act (52 U.S.C. 30101) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (8)(B)(v), by striking ``on broadcasting
stations, or in newspapers, magazines, or similar types of
general public political advertising'' and inserting ``in any
public communication''; and
(2) in paragraph (9)(B)--
(A) by amending clause (i) to read as follows:
``(i) any news story, commentary, or
editorial distributed through the facilities of
any broadcasting station or any print, online,
or digital newspaper, magazine, publication,
periodical, blog, or platform, unless such
broadcasting, print, online, or digital
facilities are owned or controlled by any
political party, political committee, or
candidate;''; and
(B) in clause (iv), by striking ``on broadcasting
stations, or in newspapers, magazines, or similar types
of general public political advertising'' and inserting
``in any public communication''.
(c) Disclosure and Disclaimer Statements.--Subsection (a) of
section 318 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30120) is amended--
(1) by striking ``financing any communication through any
broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising
facility, mailing, or any other type of general public
political advertising'' and inserting ``financing any public
communication''; and
(2) by striking ``solicits any contribution through any
broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising
facility, mailing, or any other type of general public
political advertising'' and inserting ``solicits any
contribution through any public communication''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall take effect
without regard to whether or not the Federal Election Commission has
promulgated the final regulations necessary to carry out this part and
the amendments made by this part by the deadline set forth in
subsection (e).
(e) Regulation.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Federal Election Commission shall promulgate
regulations on what constitutes a paid internet or paid digital
communication for purposes of paragraph (22) of section 301 of the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(22)), as amended
by subsection (a), except that such regulation shall not define a paid
internet or paid digital communication to include communications for
which the only payment consists of internal resources, such as employee
compensation, of the entity paying for the communication.
SEC. 6. EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATION.
(a) Expansion to Online Communications.--
(1) Application to qualified internet and digital
communications.--
(A) In general.--Subparagraph (A) of section
304(f)(3) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
(52 U.S.C. 30104(f)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ``or
satellite communication'' each place it appears in
clauses (i) and (ii) and inserting ``satellite, or
qualified internet or digital communication''.
(B) Qualified internet or digital communication.--
Paragraph (3) of section 304(f) of such Act (52 U.S.C.
30104(f)) is amended by adding at the end the following
new subparagraph:
``(D) Qualified internet or digital
communication.--The term `qualified internet or digital
communication' means any communication which is placed
or promoted for a fee on an online platform (as defined
in subsection (j)(3)).''.
(2) Nonapplication of relevant electorate to online
communications.--Section 304(f)(3)(A)(i)(III) of such Act (52
U.S.C. 30104(f)(3)(A)(i)(III)) is amended by inserting ``any
broadcast, cable, or satellite'' before ``communication''.
(3) News exemption.--Section 304(f)(3)(B)(i) of such Act
(52 U.S.C. 30104(f)(3)(B)(i)) is amended to read as follows:
``(i) a communication appearing in a news
story, commentary, or editorial distributed
through the facilities of any broadcasting
station or any online or digital newspaper,
magazine, publication, periodical, blog, or
platform, unless such broadcasting, online, or
digital facilities are owned or controlled by
any political party, political committee, or
candidate;''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply with respect to communications made on or after January 1, 2024,
and shall take effect without regard to whether or not the Federal
Election Commission has promulgated regulations to carry out such
amendments.
SEC. 7. APPLICATION OF DISCLAIMER STATEMENTS TO ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS.
(a) Clear and Conspicuous Manner Requirement.--Subsection (a) of
section 318 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C.
30120(a)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``shall clearly state'' each place it
appears in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) and inserting ``shall
state in a clear and conspicuous manner''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following flush sentence:
``For purposes of this section, a communication does not make a
statement in a clear and conspicuous manner if it is difficult
to read or hear or if the placement is easily overlooked.''.
(b) Special Rules for Qualified Internet or Digital
Communications.--
(1) In general.--Section 318 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30120)
is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(e) Special Rules for Qualified Internet or Digital
Communications.--
``(1) Special rules with respect to statements.--In the
case of any qualified internet or digital communication (as
defined in section 304(f)(3)(D)) which is disseminated through
a medium in which the provision of all of the information
specified in this section is not possible, the communication
shall, in a clear and conspicuous manner--
``(A) state the name of the person who paid for the
communication; and
``(B) provide a means for the recipient of the
communication to obtain the remainder of the
information required under this section with minimal
effort and without receiving or viewing any additional
material other than such required information.
``(2) Safe harbor for determining clear and conspicuous
manner.--A statement in qualified internet or digital
communication (as defined in section 304(f)(3)(D)) shall be
considered to be made in a clear and conspicuous manner as
provided in subsection (a) if the communication meets the
following requirements:
``(A) Text or graphic communications.--In the case
of a text or graphic communication, the statement--
``(i) appears in letters at least as large
as the majority of the text in the
communication; and
``(ii) meets the requirements of paragraphs
(2) and (3) of subsection (c).
``(B) Audio communications.--In the case of an
audio communication, the statement is spoken in a
clearly audible and intelligible manner at the
beginning or end of the communication and lasts at
least 3 seconds.
``(C) Video communications.--In the case of a video
communication which also includes audio, the
statement--
``(i) is included at either the beginning
or the end of the communication; and
``(ii) is made both in--
``(I) a written format that meets
the requirements of subparagraph (A)
and appears for at least 4 seconds; and
``(II) an audible format that meets
the requirements of subparagraph (B).
``(D) Other communications.--In the case of any
other type of communication, the statement is at least
as clear and conspicuous as the statement specified in
subparagraph (A), (B), or (C).''.
(2) Nonapplication of certain exceptions.--The exceptions
provided in section 110.11(f)(1)(i) and (ii) of title 11, Code
of Federal Regulations, or any successor to such rules, shall
have no application to qualified internet or digital
communications (as defined in section 304(f)(3)(D) of the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971).
(c) Modification of Additional Requirements for Certain
Communications.--Section 318(d) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30120(d)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(A)--
(A) by striking ``which is transmitted through
radio'' and inserting ``which is in an audio format'';
and
(B) by striking ``By radio'' in the heading and
inserting ``Audio format'';
(2) in paragraph (1)(B)--
(A) by striking ``which is transmitted through
television'' and inserting ``which is in video
format''; and
(B) by striking ``By television'' in the heading
and inserting ``Video format''; and
(3) in paragraph (2)--
(A) by striking ``transmitted through radio or
television'' and inserting ``made in audio or video
format''; and
(B) by striking ``through television'' in the
second sentence and inserting ``in video format''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall take
effect without regard to whether or not the Federal Election Commission
has promulgated regulations to carry out such amendments.
SEC. 8. POLITICAL RECORD REQUIREMENTS FOR ONLINE PLATFORMS.
(a) In General.--Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104) is amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
``(j) Disclosure of Certain Online Advertisements.--
``(1) In general.--
``(A) Requirements for online platforms.--
``(i) In general.--An online platform shall
maintain, and make available for online public
inspection in machine readable format, a
complete record of any qualified political
advertisement which is purchased by a person
whose aggregate purchases of qualified
political advertisements on such online
platform during the calendar year exceeds $500.
``(ii) Requirement relating to political
ads sold by third-party advertising vendors.--
An online platform that displays a qualified
political advertisement sold by a third-party
advertising vendor shall include on its own
platform--
``(I) an easily accessible and
identifiable link to the records
maintained by the third-party
advertising vendor under clause (i)
regarding such qualified political
advertisement; or
``(II) in any case in which the
third-party advertising vendor does not
make such records available, a
statement that no records from the
third-party advertising vendors records
are available.
``(B) Requirements for advertisers.--Any person who
purchases a qualified political advertisement on an
online platform shall provide the online platform with
such information as is necessary for the online
platform to comply with the requirements of
subparagraph (A).
``(2) Contents of record.--A record maintained under
paragraph (1)(A) shall contain--
``(A) a digital copy of the qualified political
advertisement;
``(B) a description of the audience that received
the advertisement, the number of views generated from
the advertisement, and the date and time that the
advertisement is first displayed and last displayed;
and
``(C) information regarding--
``(i) the total cost of the advertisement
(which may be rounded to the nearest $100);
``(ii) the name of the candidate to which
the advertisement refers and the office to
which the candidate is seeking election, the
election to which the advertisement refers, or
the national legislative issue to which the
advertisement refers (as applicable);
``(iii) in the case of a request made by,
or on behalf of, a candidate, the name of the
candidate, the authorized committee of the
candidate, and the treasurer of such committee;
and
``(iv) in the case of any request not
described in clause (iii), the name of the
person purchasing the advertisement, the name
and address of a contact person for such
person, and a list of the chief executive
officers or members of the executive committee
or of the board of directors of such person.
``(3) Online platform.--
``(A) In general.--For purposes of this subsection,
subject to subparagraph (B), the term `online platform'
means any public-facing website, web application, or
digital application (including a social network, ad
network, or search engine) which--
``(i)(I) sells qualified political
advertisements; and
``(II) has 50,000,000 or more unique
monthly United States visitors or users for a
majority of months during the preceding 12
months; or
``(ii) is a third-party advertising vendor
that has 50,000,000 or more unique monthly
United States visitors in the aggregate on any
advertisement space that it has sold or bought
for a majority of months during the preceding
12 months, as measured by an independent
digital ratings service accredited by the Media
Ratings Council (or its successor).
``(B) Exemption.--Such term shall not include any
online platform that is a distribution facility of any
broadcasting station or newspaper, magazine, blog,
publication, or periodical.
``(C) Third-party advertising vendor defined.--For
purposes of this subsection, the term `third-party
advertising vendor' includes any third-party
advertising vendor network, advertising agency,
advertiser, or third-party advertisement serving
company that buys and sells advertisement space on
behalf of unaffiliated third-party websites, search
engines, digital applications, or social media sites.
``(4) Qualified political advertisement.--For purposes of
this subsection, the term `qualified political advertisement'
means any advertisement (including search engine marketing,
display advertisements, video advertisements, native
advertisements, and sponsorships) that--
``(A) is made by or on behalf of a candidate; or
``(B) communicates a message relating to any
political matter of national importance, including--
``(i) a candidate;
``(ii) any election to Federal office; or
``(iii) a national legislative issue of
public importance.
``(5) Time to maintain file.--The information required
under this subsection shall be made available as soon as
possible and shall be retained by the online platform for a
period of not less than 4 years.
``(6) Special rule.--For purposes of this subsection,
multiple versions of an advertisement that contain no material
differences (such as versions that differ only because they
contain a recipient's name, or differ only in size, color,
font, or layout) may be treated as a single qualified political
advertisement.
``(7) Penalties.--For penalties for failure by online
platforms, and persons requesting to purchase a qualified
political advertisement on online platforms, to comply with the
requirements of this subsection, see section 309.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall take effect
without regard to whether or not the Federal Election Commission has
promulgated the final regulations necessary to carry out this part and
the amendments made by this part by the deadline set forth in
subsection (c).
(c) Rulemaking.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Federal Election Commission shall establish
rules--
(1) for determining whether an advertisement communicates a
national legislative issue for purposes of section 304(j) of
the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (as added by
subsection (a));
(2) requiring common data formats for the record required
to be maintained under such section 304(j) so that all online
platforms submit and maintain data online in a common, machine-
readable and publicly accessible format; and
(3) establishing search interface requirements relating to
such record, including searches by candidate name, issue,
purchaser, and date.
(d) Reporting.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and biannually thereafter, the Chairman of the
Federal Election Commission shall submit a report to Congress on--
(1) matters relating to compliance with and the enforcement
of the requirements of section 304(j) of the Federal Election
Campaign Act of 1971, as added by subsection (a);
(2) recommendations for any modifications to such section
to assist in carrying out its purposes; and
(3) identifying ways to bring transparency and
accountability to political advertisements distributed online
for free.
SEC. 9. PREVENTING CONTRIBUTIONS, EXPENDITURES, INDEPENDENT
EXPENDITURES, AND DISBURSEMENTS FOR ELECTIONEERING
COMMUNICATIONS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS IN THE FORM OF ONLINE
ADVERTISING.
Section 319 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C.
30121) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(c) Responsibilities of Broadcast Stations, Providers of Cable
and Satellite Television, and Online Platforms.--
``(1) In general.--Each television or radio broadcast
station, provider of cable or satellite television, or online
platform (as defined in section 304(j)(3)) shall make
reasonable efforts to ensure that communications described in
section 318(a) and made available by such station, provider, or
platform are not purchased by a foreign national, directly or
indirectly.
``(2) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this subsection, the Commission shall
promulgate regulations on what constitutes reasonable efforts
under paragraph (1).''.
SEC. 10. REQUIRING ONLINE PLATFORMS TO DISPLAY NOTICES IDENTIFYING
SPONSORS OF POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENTS AND TO ENSURE
NOTICES CONTINUE TO BE PRESENT WHEN ADVERTISEMENTS ARE
SHARED.
(a) In General.--Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104), as amended by section 8(a), is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(k) Ensuring Display and Sharing of Sponsor Identification in
Online Political Advertisements.--
``(1) Requirement.--Any online platform that displays a
qualified political advertisement (regardless of whether such
qualified political advertisement was purchased directly from
the online platform) shall--
``(A) display with the advertisement a visible
notice identifying the sponsor of the advertisement
(or, if it is not practical for the platform to display
such a notice, a notice that the advertisement is
sponsored by a person other than the platform); and
``(B) ensure that the notice will continue to be
displayed if a viewer of the advertisement shares the
advertisement with others on that platform.
``(2) Safe harbor.--An online platform shall not be treated
as having failed to comply with the requirements of paragraph
(1)(A) for the misidentification of a person as the sponsor of
the advertisement if--
``(A) the person placing the online advertisement
designated the person displayed in the advertisement as
the sponsor; and
``(B) the online platform relied on such
designation in good faith.
``(3) Definitions.--In this subsection--
``(A) the term `online platform' has the meaning
given such term in subsection (j)(3);
``(B) the term ``qualified political advertisement'
has the meaning given such term in subsection (j)(4);
and
``(C) the term `sponsor' means the person
purchasing the advertisement.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
apply with respect to advertisements displayed on or after the 120-day
period which begins on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall
take effect without regard to whether or not the Federal Election
Commission has promulgated regulations to carry out such amendments.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
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