October 24, 2017

Kilmer Applauds Twitter Announcement to Label Campaign Advertisements on the Service

Washington D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (D-WA) released the following statement after Twitter announced that going forward, political electioneering advertisements would be clearly identified. The company also announced additional steps to minimize how users can be targeted by advertisements and the creation of a transparency center.  

“I’m glad Twitter is taking steps to cast light on how exactly advertisers are trying to use their platform to influence elections,” said Kilmer. “This proves that increased transparency on online platforms is possible. We need clear rules of the road for all online advertisements which is why I’ll keep pushing to enact our bipartisan bill and protect our democracy.”

Last week, Representatives Kilmer and Mike Coffman (R-CO) introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to ensure online political advertisements are better monitored by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The legislation would have the FEC enact rules for online advertisements similar to what is in place for television, radio, and satellite ads so it’s clear to the public where they are coming from.

The Honest Ads Act (H.R. 4077) is a companion to a bill introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mark Warner (D-VA), and John McCain (R-AZ) following revelations that a Russian company purchased upwards of 3,000 political advertisements on Facebook in an effort to influence the 2016 Presidential election. The bill would require large digital platforms to maintain a publicly available file of all requests to run advertisements that cost more than $500 within a calendar year.