Two Senate Democrats have heard enough about Russia trying to influence U.S. elections by purchasing ads on popular websites such as Facebook and Google. Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Mark Warner of Virginia introduced the Honest Ads Act, Thursday afternoon. It would require greater disclosure about online political ads, putting the World Wide Web more in-line with radio and TV. Online advertising is pretty much a free-for-all when it comes to disclosure rules.
Last month, Facebook announced it had found 500 fake Russian accounts that purchased over $100,000 worth of election advertising. The bill would mandate digital platforms keep a public repository of paid political advertising. That information would be available for the public to see. The bill would also require the online companies to release information on who ads were targeted to, who the buyer was, and how much the ads cost. It would apply to all websites with an average of 50 million or more viewers or users.
