Proposed Federal Election Commission rules aimed at preventing foreign influence on U.S. elections through better disclosure of online political ad sponsors may not take effect before the 2018 midterms, the panel’s Republican chairwoman said Thursday. Since November, the commission has been negotiating new disclosure requirements for small, character-limited online political ads as a way to thwart foreign influence on U.S. elections. Vice Chairwoman Ellen Weintraub, a Democratic appointee, said the new rules need to be put in place as soon as possible. “Are people really going to say, ‘Oh, it’s too late in the game to run a disclaimer now’?” she said. The proposed Honest Ads Act would go further than the FEC rules by imposing a host of new ad-transparency requirements on major web platforms.

Source: Washington Post March 08, 2018 22:41 UTC