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Senators Unveil Bill For Transparent Social Media Ads After Russian Election Interference

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Two senators on Thursday introduced a bipartisan bill to require online platforms like Google , Facebook and Twitter to disclose more information about political advertising on their networks. The bill comes a few months after major Internet companies reported that Kremlin-linked accounts attempted to meddle with the U.S. 2016 presidential election through their sites.

Democratic Senators Mark Warner and Amy Klobuchar introduced the bill, called the Honest Ads Act, in a press conference on Thursday. Sen. Warner is vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, one of several federal committees investigating Russian interference in the U.S. election. If the bill passes, it would take effect starting on January 1 and would hold online platforms to the same rules that govern television, radio and newspaper ads. The bill also would require sites like Google, Facebook and Twitter, to keep a public registry showing the name and contact information of any individual or entity that spends more than $500 on political ads in a year in a push to make it easier for people to see information about who paid for the political ads they see online.

Warner said on Thursday that the ads by the Kremlin-linked accounts were aimed at sowing “division” among a wide range of populations, but did not necessarily champion one candidate. Also speaking at Thursday’s press conference, Klobuchar said laws around political ads have failed to keep up with evolving technology and the national security threat posed by the growing capabilities of foreign adversaries.

“Our entire democracy was founded on the simple idea that the people in our country should be self-governing, we don’t want other governments influencing us,” Klobuchar said. “Now 240 years later, our democracy is at risk. Russia attacked our elections and they and other foreign powers and interests will continue to divide our country if we don’t act now.”

Republican Sen. John McCain is co-sponsoring the Honest Ads Act, describing it as a logical extension of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, which passed in 2002 and required advertisers to identify themselves in political ads on radio and television.

“In the wake of Russia’s attack on the 2016 election, it is more important than ever to strengthen our defenses against foreign interference in our elections,” McCain said in a statement. “Unfortunately U.S. laws requiring transparency in political campaigns have not kept pace with rapid advances in technology, allowing our adversaries to take advantage of these loopholes to influence millions of American voters with impunity.”

“I am confident this legislation will modernize existing law to safeguard the integrity of our election system,” McCain added.

Facebook reported in September that Russian-linked accounts purchased $150,000 in political ads from June 2015 to May 2017 in a push to heighten tension over issues such as immigration and race. Facebook removed the accounts last month on the basis that they were fake and turned over more than 3,000 ads by these accounts to Congress. According to reports, the accounts gained followers by getting users to click on controversial ads. Once users followed the fake Pages, their feeds could be filled with additional unpaid political content such as posts, videos and photos.

Last month, Twitter said it found 201 accounts on its site linked to the fraudulent accounts Facebook had previously identified. Twitter also reported that the Russian-backed news site RT, which a U.S. intelligence report said attempted to meddle in the U.S. election, bought $274,100 of ads on Twitter last year. Under federal law, foreign governments and foreign nationals are prohibited from making contributions or spending money to influence a federal, state or local election in the U.S.

The issue of Russia's use of social platforms to interfere in the U.S. election has engulfed various tech giants, most notably Facebook, which has come under withering criticism for its failure to effectively police content and ads on its site. Senate leaders have endorsed earlier findings by the U.S. intelligence community that the Russian president Vladimir Putin led a coordinated campaign to interfere with the 2016 U.S. election. Russian election meddling doesn’t appear to be limited to the U.S. Russian efforts may also have extended to France, the Netherlands and Germany, according to the Senate leaders. Russia may try to meddle in upcoming U.S. elections this year and next, the Senate committee said.

Facebook, Google and Twitter are expected to appear in a November 1 open hearing about Russian involvement on their platforms. Warner said earlier this week that a number of senators will likely wait until after the Internet companies participate in the hearing before taking a stance on the bill.

“Americans deserve to know who is paying for online ads,” Klobuchar said at the press conference. “Honestly, if the Russian interference had not occurred, we should still be updating our laws. Our laws are not as updated as those who are trying to manipulate us.”

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