May, 25 2018, 12:00am EDT
Common Cause Urges FEC to Enact Stronger Proposal for Online Political Ad "Paid for By" Disclaimers
WASHINGTON
Common Cause and 25,213 of its members and supporters have filed formal comments urging the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to adopt the stronger of two proposals (Alternative A) to update its rules by requiring online political advertisements to include "paid for by" disclaimers currently required for TV, radio and print ads. Common Cause joins a coalition of pro-transparency organizations delivering to the FEC comments from more than 100,000 people urging the adoption of stronger online ad disclaimer rules.
The comments emphasized that the rulemaking is long overdue as political advertising on internet has exploded in recent cycles with almost no disclosure of those funding such advertising. More than $1.4 billion was spent on political advertising online during the 2016 election cycle and a Russian "troll farm," the Internet Research Agency, in St. Petersburg was spending more than $1.25 million per month in the Fall of 2016 distributing propaganda on the internet in order to help swing the presidential election.
Though the FEC has not been enforcing existing laws requiring disclosure of spending on "general public political advertising" when it comes to online political ads, the comments emphasize that Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller has charged 13 Russian nationals and three companies, including the "troll farm," with criminal violations for undisclosed spending in the 2016 election.
"Americans have made very clear that they want to know whom or what is bankrolling political ads on the internet and Special Counsel Robert Mueller is enforcing disclosure requirements related to those ads - it is high-time the FEC follows suit," said Karen Hobert Flynn, president of Common Cause. "To safeguard the integrity of our elections, the FEC must bring online disclosure regulations into line with those that apply to television, radio and print. Congress must go further and pass the Honest Ads Act to strengthen disclosure requirements for paid online political activity."
"There is too much at stake for the FEC to continue turning a blind eye to this huge vulnerability of our campaign finance regulations that has allowed Kremlin-backed companies and individuals to advertise anonymously online in an effort to sway our elections to the candidate of their choice," said Paul S. Ryan, Common Cause vice president for policy and litigation. "Both the FEC and Congress must act and act decisively to address this serious national security issue. It is long past time for every member of Congress and every FEC Commissioner to put their country before their party and tighten the laws protecting Americans' right to know who's buying ads to influence their votes in our elections."
Common Cause is also continuing its work to secure additional cosponsors and pass the Honest Ads Act, introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mark Warner (D-VA), and John McCain (R-AZ), that requires disclosure of the sponsors of online political ads.
To read the comments, click here.
To view this release online, click here.
Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.
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"So if you're wondering if Donald Trump is trying to kill your kids, yes, yes he is," said one critic.
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Public health advocates, federal lawmakers, and other critics responded with alarm to The New York Timesreporting on Friday that an attorney helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. select officials for the next Trump administration tried to get the U.S. regulators to revoke approval of the polio vaccine in 2022.
"The United States has been a leader in the global fight to eradicate polio, which is poised to become only the second disease in history to be eliminated from the face of the earth after smallpox," said Liza Barrie, Public Citizen's campaign director for global vaccines access. "Undermining polio vaccination efforts now risks reversing decades of progress and unraveling one of the greatest public health achievements of all time."
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According to the newspaper:
Mr. Siri is also representing ICAN in petitioning the FDA to "pause distribution" of 13 other vaccines, including combination products that cover tetanus, diphtheria, polio, and hepatitis A, until their makers disclose details about aluminum, an ingredient researchers have associated with a small increase in asthma cases.
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Ayman Chit, head of vaccines for North America at Sanofi, told the newspaper that development of the vaccine began in 1977, over 280 million people worldwide have received it, and there have been more than 300 studies, some with up to six months of follow-up.
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Ryan Cooper, managing editor at The American Prospect, warned that "they want your kids dead."
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Multiple critics altered Trump's campaign slogan to "Make Polio Great Again."
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) responded with a video on social media:
Without naming anyone, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a polio survivor, put out a lengthy statement on Friday.
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