Today’s Action: Pass the Honest Ads Act

We now know that in 2016, our election was hijacked by Russian operatives who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on targeted internet ads favoring and ultimately helping to elect Trump. These ads spread across social media and internet search engines like wildfire, influencing millions of Americans without any disclosure of who was paying for them.

And it could happen again in 2020 because campaign advertising regulations barely include the internet. In fact, the last update was passed in 2002…two years before Facebook was invented (remember that golden era?) But the Honest Ads Act is a piece of bipartisan legislation that would update campaign advertising standards to include our new era of internet advertisements.

Call or email your Members of Congress and ask them to help prevent another Russian attack in the 2020 elections by demanding they pass the Honest Ads Act. If they have already co-sponsored (House/Senate), thank them.

The Honest Ads Act would add a string of voter/consumer protections to internet political advertising, beginning with some basics:

• Requiring political ads disclose to the consumer that they are, well, political
• Requiring online platforms (like Facebook) to maintain a database of political ads running on their sites and make all efforts to ensure the purchaser isn’t a foreign entity
• Updating online advertising standards to match those of television and radio

Passing this legislation won’t completely prevent another targeted attack on our elections process – but it’s one big, necessary step in the right direction.

Email or call (202.224.3121) your Members of Congress and tell them to pass the Honest Ads Act, updating internet advertising standards to match those of TV and radio. Thank them if they have already co-sponsored (House/Senate)!