McCaskill Pushes for Transparency in Online Political Ads

Senator urges Federal Election Commission to update rules so Americans know who pays for political ads online

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill is helping lead a group of 17 Senators pushing top federal election officials for a rules change to allow Americans to know who pays for online political ads just as is required for political ads on radio and television.

Following the comments from McCaskill and her colleagues, the Federal Election Commission voted today to begin a rule making process on online ads, but details and scope have yet to be determined.

In a letter to the Federal Election Commission, McCaskill urged immediate action to improve transparency for political advertisements online. The Senators submitted their public comments to the Commission as part of the agency’s month-long comment period on whether it should update rules that currently exempt many online ads from the requirements applied to political ads that air on television and radio.

“More and more, folks are getting their news from their timelines and newsfeeds—so the same basic rules for transparency that apply to TV and radio ads ought to apply online as well,” said McCaskill, a former Missouri State Auditor. “Missourians deserve to know who is behind the ads they see online—whether they’re paid for by a local business, an advocacy group, or a national political party—adding transparency to online ads is a simple, commonsense change we can and should make immediately.”

In the Senators’ official comment to the Federal Election Commission they wrote: “Television and radio ads continue to play an impactful role in our elections, however, the explosive growth of internet advertisements, or digital ads, cannot be ignored. In the 2016 election, spending on digital advertising reached $1.4 billion, a 789 percent increase from the $159 million spent in 2012. All signs indicate that the shift to digital advertising will continue to grow disproportionately.”

McCaskill has been a longtime advocate for transparency in government and elections. The non-partisan organization GovTrack has ranked her the top Senator for government transparency. Additionally, McCaskill was nominated for a “Door Stop Award for Congressional Innovation and Transparency” in recognition of her work to make government open and accessible to Missourians.

Aiming to rein in special interest money pouring into campaigns across the country, McCaskill voted to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to restore reasonable limits on money in politics. McCaskill is also a strong supporter of the DISCLOSE Act—legislation to strengthen transparency in U.S. elections, in part by requiring secretive organizations spending huge sums on campaigns to disclose their donations.

Visit mccaskill.senate.gov/accountability to learn more about McCaskill’s fight to strengthen accountability.

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