Honest Ads Act

I 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 infor- mation 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 polit- ical advertisements by requiring those who purchase and publish such ads to disclose information about the adver- tisements to the public, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Honest Ads Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 5 The purpose of this subtitle is to enhance the integ- 6 rity of American democracy and national security by im- 7 proving disclosure requirements for online political adver- 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2599.IH H2599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2599 IH tisements in order to uphold the Supreme Court’s well- 1 established standard that the electorate bears the right to 2 be fully informed. 3 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 4 Congress makes the following findings: 5 (1) In 2002, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform 6 Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–155) became law, es- 7 tablishing disclosure requirements for political adver- 8 tisements distributed from a television or radio 9 broadcast station or provider of cable or satellite tel- 10 evision. In 2003, the Supreme Court upheld regula- 11 tions on electioneering communications established 12 under the Act, noting that such requirements ‘‘pro- 13 vide the electorate with information and insure that 14 the voters are fully informed about the person or 15 group who is speaking.’’. The Court reaffirmed this 16 conclusion in 2010 by an 8–1 vote. 17 (2) In its 2006 rulemaking, the Federal Elec- 18 tion Commission, the independent Federal agency 19 charged with protecting the integrity of the Federal 20 campaign finance process, noted that 18 percent of 21 all Americans cited the internet as their leading 22 source of news about the 2004 Presidential election. 23 By contrast, Gallup and the Knight Foundation 24 found in 2020 that the majority of Americans, 58 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2599.IH H2599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2599 IH percent, got most of their news about elections on- 1 line. 2 (3) According to studies from AdImpact and 3 Borrell Associates, in 2020, an estimated 4 $1,700,000,000 was spent on online political adver- 5 tising, more than 10 times the amount spent in 6 2012. 7 (4) In order to enhance transparency of all po- 8 litical advertisement funding, it is prudent to extend 9 to online internet platforms the same types of polit- 10 ical advertisement disclosure requirements applicable 11 to broadcast television and radio stations, and pro- 12 viders of cable and satellite television. 13 (5) Effective and complete transparency for vot- 14 ers must include information about the true and 15 original source of money given, transferred, and 16 spent on political advertisements made online. 17 (6) Requiring the disclosure of this information 18 is a necessary and narrowly tailored means to in- 19 form the voting public of who is behind digital ad- 20 vertising disseminated to influence their votes and to 21 enable the Federal Election Commission and the De- 22 partment of Justice to detect and prosecute illegal 23 foreign spending on local, State, and Federal elec- 24 tions and other campaign finance violations. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2599.IH H2599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 2599 IH (7) Paid advertising on large online platforms is 1 different from advertising placed on other common 2 media in terms of the comparatively low cost of 3 reaching large numbers of people, the availability of 4 sophisticated microtargeting, and the ease with 5 which online advertisers, particularly those located 6 outside the United States, can evade disclosure re- 7 quirements. Requiring large online platforms to 8 maintain public files of information about the online 9 political ads they disseminate is the best and least 10 restrictive means to ensure the voting public has 11 complete information about who is trying to influ- 12 ence their votes and to aid enforcement of other 13 laws, including the prohibition on foreign money in 14 domestic campaigns. 15 (8) The reach of a few large internet plat- 16 forms—larger than any broadcast, satellite, or cable 17 provider—has greatly facilitated the scope and effec- 18 tiveness of disinformation campaigns. For instance, 19 the largest platform has over 247,000,000 American 20 users—over 153,000,000 of them on a daily basis. 21 By contrast, the largest cable television provider has 22 16,142,000 subscribers, while the largest satellite 23 television provider has 13,300,000 subscribers. And 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2599.IH H2599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 2599 IH the most-watched television broadcast in United 1 States history had 118,000,000 viewers. 2 (9) The public nature of broadcast television, 3 radio, and satellite ensures a level of publicity for 4 any political advertisement. These communications 5 are accessible to the press, fact-checkers, and polit- 6 ical opponents. This creates strong disincentives for 7 a candidate to disseminate materially false, inflam- 8 matory, or contradictory messages to the public. So- 9 cial media platforms, in contrast, can target portions 10 of the electorate with direct, ephemeral advertise- 11 ments often on the basis of private information the 12 platform has on individuals, enabling political adver- 13 tisements that are contradictory, racially or socially 14 inflammatory, or materially false. 15 (10) Large social media platforms are the only 16 entities in possession of certain key data related to 17 paid online ads, including the exact audience tar- 18 geted by those ads and their number of impressions. 19 Such information, which cannot be reliably disclosed 20 by the purchasers of ads, is extremely useful for in- 21 forming the electorate, guarding against corruption, 22 and aiding in the enforcement of existing campaign 23 finance regulations. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2599.IH H2599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 2599 IH (11) Paid advertisements on social media plat- 1 forms have served as critical tools for foreign online 2 influence campaigns—even those that rely on large 3 amounts of unpaid content—because such ads allow 4 foreign actors to test the effectiveness of different 5 messages, expose their messages to audiences who 6 have not sought out such content, and recruit audi- 7 ences for future campaigns and posts. 8 (12) A 2019 Senate Select Committee on 9 Intelligence’s Report on Russian Active Measures 10 Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Elec- 11 tion Volume 2: Russia’s Use of Social Media with 12 Additional Views, the Committee recommended 13 ‘‘that Congress examine legislative approaches to en- 14 suring Americans know the sources of online polit- 15 ical advertisements. The Federal Election Campaign 16 Act of 1971 requires political advertisements on tele- 17 vision, radio and satellite to disclose the sponsor of 18 the advertisement. The same requirements should 19 apply online. This will also help to ensure that the 20 IRA or any similarly situated actors cannot use paid 21 advertisements for purposes of foreign inter- 22 ference.’’. 23 (13) On March 16, 2021, the Office of the Di- 24 rector of National Intelligence released the declas- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2599.IH H2599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 2599 IH sified Intelligence Community assessment of foreign 1 threats to the 2020 U.S. Federal elections. The de- 2 classified report found: ‘‘Throughout the election 3 cycle, Russia’s online influence actors sought to af- 4 fect U.S. public perceptions of the candidates, as 5 well as advance Moscow’s longstanding goals of un- 6 dermining confidence in US election processes and 7 increasing sociopolitical divisions among the Amer- 8 ican people.’’. The report also determined that Iran 9 sought to influence the election by ‘‘creating and 10 amplifying social media content that criticized [can- 11 didates].’’ 12 (14) According to a Wall Street Journal report 13 in April 2021, voluntary ad libraries operated by 14 major platforms rely on foreign governments to self- 15 report political ad purchases. These ad-buys, includ- 16 ing those diminishing major human rights violations 17 like the Uighur genocide, are under-reported by for- 18 eign government purchasers, with no substantial 19 oversight or repercussions from the platforms. 20 (15) Multiple reports have indicated that online 21 ads have become a key vector for strategic influence 22 by the People’s Republic of China. An April 2021 23 Wall Street Journal report noted that the Chinese 24 Government and Chinese state-owned enterprises are 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2599.IH H2599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 2599 IH major purchasers of ads on the U.S.’s largest social 1 media platform, including to advance Chinese propa- 2 ganda. 3 (16) Large online platforms have made changes 4 to their policies intended to make it harder for for- 5 eign actors to purchase political ads. However, these 6 private actions have not been taken by all platforms, 7 have not been reliably enforced, and are subject to 8 immediate change at the discretion of the platforms. 9 (17) The Federal Election Commission’s cur- 10 rent regulations on political advertisements do not 11 provide sufficient transparency to uphold the 12 public’s right to be fully informed about political ad- 13 vertisements made online. 14 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 15 It is the sense of Congress that— 16 (1) the dramatic increase in digital political ad- 17 vertisements, and the growing centrality of online 18 platforms in the lives of Americans, requires the 19 Congress and the Federal Election Commission to 20 take meaningful action to ensure that laws and reg- 21 ulations provide the accountability and transparency 22 that is fundamental to our democracy; 23 (2) free and fair elections require both trans- 24 parency and accountability which give the public a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2599.IH H2599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 2599 IH right to know the true sources of funding for polit- 1 ical advertisements, be they foreign or domestic, in 2 order to make informed political choices and hold 3 elected officials accountable; and 4 (3) transparency of funding for political adver- 5 tisements is essential to enforce other campaign fi- 6 nance laws, including the prohibition on campaign 7 spending by foreign nationals. 8 SEC. 5. EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF PUBLIC COMMU- 9 NICATION. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (22) of section 301 of 11 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 12 30101(22)) is amended by striking ‘‘or satellite commu- 13 nication’’ and inserting ‘‘satellite, paid internet, or paid 14 digital communication’’. 15 (b) TREATMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDI- 16 TURES.—Section 301 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30101) is 17 amended— 18 (1) in paragraph (8)(B)(v), by striking ‘‘on 19 broadcasting stations, or in newspapers, magazines, 20 or similar types of general public political adver- 21 tising’’ and inserting ‘‘in any public communica- 22 tion’’; and 23 (2) in paragraph (9)(B)— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2599.IH H2599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 2599 IH (A) by amending clause (i) to read as fol- 1 lows: 2 ‘‘(i) any news story, commentary, or 3 editorial distributed through the facilities 4 of any broadcasting station or any print, 5 online, or digital newspaper, magazine, 6 publication, periodical, blog, or platform, 7 unless such broadcasting, print, online, or 8 digital facilities are owned or controlled by 9 any political party, political committee, or 10 candidate;’’; and 11 (B) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘on broad- 12 casting stations, or in newspapers, magazines, 13 or similar types of general public political ad- 14 vertising’’ and inserting ‘‘in any public commu- 15 nication’’. 16 (c) DISCLOSURE AND DISCLAIMER STATEMENTS.— 17 Subsection (a) of section 318 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 18 30120) is amended— 19 (1) by striking ‘‘financing any communication 20 through any broadcasting station, newspaper, maga- 21 zine, outdoor advertising facility, mailing, or any 22 other type of general public political advertising’’ 23 and inserting ‘‘financing any public communication’’; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2599.IH H2599 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 2599 IH (2) by striking ‘‘solicits any contribution 1 through any broadcasting station, newspaper, maga- 2 zine, outdoor advertising facility, mailing, or any 3 other type of general public political advertising’’ 4 and inserting ‘‘solicits any contribution through any 5 public communication’’. 6 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 7 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 8 of this Act and shall take effect without regard to whether 9 or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 10 the final regulations necessary to carry out this part and 11 the amendments made by this part by the deadline set 12 forth in subsection (e). 13 (e) REGULATION.—Not later than 1 year after the 14 date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Election 15 Commission shall promulgate regulations on what con- 16 stitutes a paid internet or paid digital communication for 17 purposes of paragraph (22) of section 301 of the Federal 18 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(22)), 19 as amended by subsection (a), except that such regulation 20 shall not define a paid internet or paid digital communica- 21 tion to include communications for which the o [Text truncated for display. 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