,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #acef ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,may #g1 #bjai,ms4 ,klobuchar 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,graham1 and ,mr4 ,warner7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,rules and ,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 public1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,honest ,ads ,act4 #b4 ,purpose ,the purpose of this ,act is to enhance the integrity of ,american democracy and national security by improving disclosure requirements for online political advertisements in order to uphold the ,united ,states ,supreme ,court's well-established standard that the electorate bears the right to be fully informed4 #c4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,on ,april #ah1 #bjai1 ,special ,counsel ,robert ,mueller released a report titled ,report on the ,investigation into ,russian ,interference in the #bjaf ,presidential ,election1 which concluded that the ,russian government interfered in the #bjaf presidential election in sweeping and systemic fashion44 ,the report details that ,russia interfered in the #bjaf presidential election principally through two operations3 first1 through a ,russian government sponsored social media influence campaign1 and second1 by ,russian intelligence computer-intrusion operations against those associated with both presidential campaigns4 7#b7 ,on ,september #f1 #bjag1 the ,nation's largest social media platform disclosed that between ,june #bjae and ,may #bjag1 ,russian entities purchased #ajj1jjj in political advertisements1 publishing roughly #c1jjj ads linked to fake accounts associated with the ,internet ,research ,agency1 a pro-,kremlin organization4 ,according to the company1 the ads purchased focused on amplifying divisive social and political messages '''4 7#c7 ,in #bjjb1 the ,bipartisan ,campaign ,reform ,act became law1 establishing disclosure requirements for political advertisements distributed from a television or radio broadcast station or provider of cable or satellite television4 ,in #bjjc1 the ,supreme ,court upheld regulations on electioneering communications established under the ,act1 noting that such requirements provide the electorate with information and insure that the voters are fully informed about the person or group who is speaking44 7#d7 ,according to a study from ,borrell ,associates1 in #bjaf1 #a1dae1jjj1jjj was spent on online advertising1 more than quadruple the amount in #bjab4 7#e7 ,the reach of a few large internet platforms--larger than any broadcast1 satellite1 or cable provider--has greatly facilitated the scope and effectiveness of disinformation campaigns4 ,for instance1 the largest platform has over #baj1jjj1jjj ,american users--over #afj1jjj1jjj of them on a daily basis4 ,by contrast1 the largest cable television provider has #bb1dcj1jjj subscribers1 while the largest satellite television provider has #ba1jjj1jjj subscribers4 ,and the most-watched television broadcast in ,u4,s4 history had #aah1jjj1jjj viewers4 7#f7 ,the public nature of broadcast television1 radio1 and satellite ensures a level of publicity for any political advertisement4 ,these communications are accessible to the press1 fact-checkers1 and political opponents2 this creates strong disincentives for a candidate to disseminate materially false1 inflammatory1 or contradictory messages to the public4 ,social media platforms1 in contrast1 can target portions of the electorate with direct1 ephemeral advertisements often on the basis of private information the platform has on individuals1 enabling political advertisements that are contradictory1 racially or socially inflammatory1 or materially false4 7#g7 ,according to com,score1 #b companies own #h of the #aj most popular smartphone applications as of ,june #bjag1 including the most popular social media and email services--which deliver information and news to users without requiring proactivity by the user4 ,those same #b companies accounted for #ii percent of revenue growth from digital advertising in #bjaf1 including #gg percent of gross spending4 #gi percent of online ,americans--representing #fh percent of all ,americans--use the single largest social network1 while #ff percent of these users are most likely to get their news from that site4 7#h7 ,in its #bjjf rulemaking1 the ,federal ,election ,commission noted that only #ah percent of all ,americans cited the internet as their leading source of news about the #bjjd ,presidential election2 by contrast1 the ,pew ,research ,center found that #fe percent of ,americans identified an internet-based source as their leading source of information for the #bjaf election4 7#i7 ,the ,federal ,election ,commission1 the independent ,federal agency charged with protecting the integrity of the ,federal campaign finance process by providing transparency and administering campaign finance laws1 has failed to take action to address online political advertisements4 7#aj7 ,in testimony before the ,senate ,select ,committee on ,intelligence titled1 ,disinformation3 ,a ,primer in ,russian ,active ,measures and ,influence ,campaigns1 multiple expert witnesses testified that while the disinformation tactics of foreign adversaries have not necessarily changed1 social media services now provide platforms practically purpose-built for active measures4 ,similarly1 as ,gen4 7,,ret7 ,keith ,b4 ,alexander1 the former ,director of the ,national ,security ,agency1 testified1 during the ,cold ,war if the ,soviet ,union sought to manipulate information flow1 it would have to do so principally through its own propaganda outlets or through active measures that would generate specific news3 planting of leaflets1 inciting of violence1 creation of other false materials and narratives4 ,but the news itself was hard to manipulate because it would have required actual control of the organs of media1 which took long-term efforts to penetrate4 ,today1 however1 because the clear majority of the information on social media sites is uncurated and there is a rapid proliferation of information sources and other sites that can reinforce information1 there is an increasing likelihood that the information available to average consumers may be inaccurate 7whether intentionally or otherwise7 and may be more easily manipulable than in prior eras44 7#aa7 ,current regulations on political advertisements do not provide sufficient transparency to uphold the public's right to be fully informed about political advertisements made online4 #d4 ,sense of congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 the dramatic increase in digital political advertisements1 and the growing centrality of online platforms in the lives of ,americans1 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 democracy2 7#b7 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 in order to make informed political choices and hold elected officials accountable2 and 7#c7 transparency of funding for political advertisements is essential to enforce other campaign finance laws1 including the prohibition on campaign spending by foreign nationals4 #e4 ,expansion of definition of public communication 7a7 ,in general ,paragraph 7#bb7 of section #cja of the ,federal ,election ,campaign ,act of #aiga 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjaja7bb77 is amended by striking or satellite communication and inserting satellite1 paid internet1 or paid digital communication4 7b7 ,treatment of contributions and expenditures ,section #cja of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjaja7 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#h77;,b7-- 7,a7 by striking on broadcasting stations1 or in newspapers1 magazines1 or similar types of general public political advertising in clause 7v7 and inserting in any public communication2 7,b7 by striking broadcasting1 newspaper1 magazine1 billboard1 direct mail1 or similar type of general public communication or political advertising in clause 7ix77#a7 and inserting public communication2 and 7,c7 by striking but not including the use of broadcasting1 newspapers1 magazines1 billboards1 direct mail1 or similar types of general public communication or political advertising in clause 7x7 and inserting but not including use in any public communication2 and 7#b7 in paragraph 7#i77;,b7-- 7,a7 by striking clause 7i7 and inserting the following3 7i7 any news story1 commentary1 or editorial distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting station or any print1 online1 or digital newspaper1 magazine1 blog1 publication1 or periodical1 unless such broadcasting1 print1 online1 or digital facilities are owned or controlled by any political party1 political committee1 or candidate2 2 and 7,b7 by striking on broadcasting stations1 or in newspapers1 magazines1 or similar types of general public political advertising in clause 7iv7 and inserting in any public communication4 7c7 ,disclosure and disclaimer statements ,subsection 7a7 of section #cah of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjabj7 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking financing any communication through any broadcasting station1 newspaper1 magazine1 outdoor advertising facility1 mailing1 or any other type of general public political advertising and inserting financing any public communication2 and 7#b7 by striking solicits any contribution through any broadcasting station1 newspaper1 magazine1 outdoor advertising facility1 mailing1 or any other type of general public political advertising and inserting solicits any contribution through any public communication4 #f4 ,expansion of definition of electioneering communication 7a7 ,expansion to online communications 7#a7 ,application to qualified internet and digital communications 7,a7 ,in general ,subparagraph 7,a7 of section #cjd7;f77#c7 of the ,federal ,election ,campaign ,act of #aiga 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjajd7;f77#c77;,a77 is amended by striking or satellite communication each place it appears in clauses 7i7 and 7ii7 and inserting satellite1 or qualified internet or digital communication4 7,b7 ,qualified internet or digital communication ,paragraph 7#c7 of section #cjd7;f7 of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjajd7;f77 is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph3 7,d7 ,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 7as defined in subsection 7j77#c774 4 7#b7 ,nonapplication of relevant electorate to online communications ,section #cjd7;f77#c77;,a77i77,,iii7 of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjajd7;f77#c77;,a77i77,,iii77 is amended by inserting any broadcast1 cable1 or satellite before communication4 7#c7 ,news exemption ,section #cjd7;f77#c77;,b77i7 of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjajd7;f77#c77;,b77i77 is amended to read as follows3 7i7 a communication appearing in a news story1 commentary1 or editorial distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting station or any online or digital newspaper1 magazine1 blog1 publication1 or periodical1 unless such broadcasting1 online1 or digital facilities are owned or controlled by any political party1 political committee1 or candidate2 4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to communications made on or after ,january #a1 #bjbj4 #g4 ,application of disclaimer statements to online communications 7a7 ,clear and conspicuous manner requirement ,subsection 7a7 of section #cah of the ,federal ,election ,campaign ,act of #aiga 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjabj7;a77 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking shall clearly state each place it appears in paragraphs 7#a71 7#b71 and 7#c7 and inserting shall state in a clear and conspicuous manner2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following flush sentence3 ,for purposes of this subsection1 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 overlooked44 7b7 ,special rules for qualified ,internet or digital communications 7#a7 ,in general ,section #cah of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjabj7 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7e7 ,special rules qualified internet or digital communications 7#a7 ,special rules with respect to statements ,in the case of any qualified internet or digital communication 7as defined in section #cjd7;f77#c77;,d77 which is disseminated through a medium in which the provision of all of the information specified in this section is not possible1 the communication shall1 in a clear and conspicuous manner-- 7,a7 state the name of the person who paid for the communication2 and 7,b7 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 information4 7#b7 ,safe harbor for determining clear and conspicuous manner ,a statement in qualified internet or digital communication 7as defined in section #cjd7;f77#c77;,d77 shall be considered to be made in a clear and conspicuous manner as provided in subsection 7a7 if the communication meets the following requirements3 7,a7 ,text or graphic communications ,in the case of a text or graphic communication1 the statement-- 7i7 appears in letters at least as large as the majority of the text in the communication2 and 7ii7 meets the requirements of paragraphs 7#b7 and 7#c7 of subsection 7c74 7,b7 ,audio communications ,in the case of an audio communication1 the statement is spoken in a clearly audible and intelligible manner at the beginning or end of the communication and lasts at least #c seconds4 7,c7 ,video communications ,in the case of a video communication which also includes audio1 the statement-- 7i7 is included at either the beginning or the end of the communication2 and 7ii7 is made both in-- 7,i7 a written format that meets the requirements of subparagraph 7,a7 and appears for at least #d seconds2 and 7,,ii7 an audible format that meets the requirements of subparagraph 7,b74 7,d7 ,other communications ,in the case of any other type of communication1 the statement is at least as clear and conspicuous as the statement specified in subparagraphs 7,a71 7,b71 or 7,c74 4 7#b7 ,nonapplication of certain exceptions ,the exceptions provided in section #aaj4aa7;f77#a77;i7 and 7ii7 of title #aa1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 or any successor to such rules1 shall have no application to qualified internet or digital communications 7as defined in section #cjd7;f77#c77;,d7 of the ,federal ,election ,campaign ,act of #aiga74 7c7 ,modification of additional requirements for certain communications ,section #cah7;d7 of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjabj7;d77 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#a77;,a7-- 7,a7 by striking which is transmitted through radio and inserting which is in an audio format2 and 7,b7 by striking ,by radio in the heading and inserting ,audio format2 7#b7 in paragraph 7#a77;,b7-- 7,a7 by striking which is transmitted through television and inserting which is in video format2 and 7,b7 by striking ,by television in the heading and inserting ,video format2 and 7#c7 in paragraph 7#b7-- 7,a7 by striking transmitted through radio or television and inserting made in audio or video format2 and 7,b7 by striking through television in the second sentence and inserting in video format4 #h4 ,political record requirements for online platforms 7a7 ,in general ,section #cjd of the ,federal ,election ,campaign ,act of #aiga 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjajd7 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7j7 ,disclosure of certain online advertisements 7#a7 ,in general 7,a7 ,requirements for online platforms ,an online platform shall maintain1 and make available for online public inspection in machine readable format1 a complete record of any request to purchase on such online platform a qualified political advertisement which is made by a person whose aggregate requests to purchase qualified political advertisements on such online platform during the calendar year exceeds #ejj4 7,b7 ,requirements for advertisers ,any person who requests to purchase 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 7,a74 7#b7 ,contents of record ,a record maintained under paragraph 7#a77;,a7 shall contain-- 7,a7 a digital copy of the qualified political advertisement2 7,b7 a description of the audience targeted by the advertisement1 the number of views generated from the advertisement1 and the date and time that the advertisement is first displayed and last displayed2 and 7,c7 information regarding-- 7i7 the average rate charged for the advertisement2 7ii7 the name of the candidate to which the advertisement refers and the office to which the candidate is seeking election1 the election to which the advertisement refers1 or the national legislative issue to which the advertisement refers 7as applicable72 7iii7 in the case of a request made by1 or on behalf of1 a candidate1 the name of the candidate1 the authorized committee of the candidate1 and the treasurer of such committee2 and 7iv7 in the case of any request not described in clause 7iii71 the name of the person purchasing the advertisement1 the name1 address1 and phone number of a contact person for such person1 and a list of the chief executive officers or members of the executive committee or of the board of directors of such person4 7#c7 ,online platform ,for purposes of this subsection1 the term online platform means any public-facing website1 web application1 or digital application 7including a social network1 ad network1 or search engine7 which-- 7,a7 sells qualified political advertisements2 and 7,b7 has #ej1jjj1jjj or more unique monthly ,united ,states visitors or users for a majority of months during the preceding #ab months4 7#d7 ,qualified political advertisement 7,a7 ,in general ,for purposes of this subsection1 the term qualified political advertisement means any advertisement 7including search engine marketing1 display advertisements1 video advertisements1 native advertisements1 and sponsorships7 that-- 7i7 is made by or on behalf of a candidate2 or 7ii7 communicates a message relating to any political matter of national importance1 including-- 7,i7 a candidate2 7,,ii7 any election to ,federal office2 or 7,,iii7 a national legislative issue of public importance4 7#e7 ,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 #d years4 7#f7 ,penalties ,for penalties for failure by online platforms1 and persons requesting to purchase a qualified political advertisement on online platforms1 to comply with the requirements of this subsection1 see section #cji4 4 7b7 ,rulemaking ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,federal ,election ,commission shall establish rules-- 7#a7 requiring common data formats for the record required to be maintained under section #cjd7;j7 of the ,federal ,election ,campaign ,act of #aiga 7as added by subsection 7a77 so that all online platforms submit and maintain data online in a common1 machine-readable and publicly accessible format2 and 7#b7 establishing search interface requirements relating to such record1 including searches by candidate name1 issue1 purchaser1 and date4 7c7 ,reporting ,not later than #b years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and biannually thereafter1 the ,chairman of the ,federal ,election ,commission shall submit a report to ,congress on-- 7#a7 matters relating to compliance with and the enforcement of the requirements of section #cjd7;j7 of the ,federal ,election ,campaign ,act of #aiga1 as added by subsection 7a72 7#b7 recommendations for any modifications to such section to assist in carrying out its purposes2 and 7#c7 identifying ways to bring transparency and accountability to political advertisements distributed online for free4 #i4 ,preventing contributions1 expenditures1 independent expenditures1 and disbursements for electioneering communications by foreign nationals in the form of online advertising ,section #cai of the ,federal ,election ,campaign ,act of #aiga 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjaba7 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7c7 ,each television or radio broadcast station1 provider of cable or satellite television1 or online platform 7as defined in section #cjd7;j77#c77 shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that communications described in section #cah7;a7 and made available by such station1 provider1 or platform are not purchased by a foreign national1 directly or indirectly4 4