“When a political ad is posted online, voters deserve to know who paid for it. Anonymous communications and misinformation threaten the integrity of our elections,” Assemblywoman Jenne said.
“This common-sense legislation will go a long way in ensuring that unscrupulous organizations and individuals who pay for dishonest digital ads are held accountable,” she added.
The Democracy Protection Act requires internet and digital political advertisements to include a “paid for by” statement with the name of the political committee financing the ad.
Additionally, the legislation requires online platforms to maintain a complete record of all paid political communications, including the target audience, number of views generated by the ad and the name, address and phone number of the person purchasing the ad, and make the information available online.
The bill also prohibits foreign nationals or government agents from registering as an independent expenditure committee for the purpose of paying for political communications in New York.
The measure, which passed the state Assembly on Wednesday, builds on Assemblywoman Jenne’s continued efforts to increase transparency and keep dark money out of New York elections.
She also strongly supports closing the LLC loophole to prevent special interests from having undue influence (A.9758-A).