Washington state officials doubled down on rules requiring companies like Facebook to disclose information about the political ads they sell, according to The Stranger.
The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission voted to uphold regulations that require those companies to report who paid for a political ad, how much the advertiser spent, the issue or candidate supported by the ad, and the demographics of the audience targeted.
In June, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit against Facebook and Google after reporting by The Stranger and others revealed the social media companies’ failure to comply with state transparency laws.
Shortly thereafter, Google announced it would stop running local political ads in Washington to “assess the amended campaign disclosure law and ensure that our systems are built to comply with the new requirements.”
