Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a new lawsuit against Facebook claiming the social network continues to violate state laws governing political ad disclosures.
It’s the second time Ferguson has sought legal recourse from Facebook for violating a law that requires any entity selling political ads to maintain a publicly available database of those ads and details on who purchased them.
Facebook settled the first lawsuit by agreeing to pay a $238,000 fine in 2018. Washington settled a separate lawsuit with Google over the same issue at the time. Facebook said that it would stop selling political ads in Washington, rather than comply with the law, though the court did not require that outcome.
Ferguson’s office claims Facebook continued selling political ads in Washington, despite that commitment. News reports over the past two years have corroborated the claim.
The new lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, claims Facebook sold ads to at least 171 political committees in Washington state, generating at least $525,000 in revenue. Those findings come from investigations by the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission and attorney general’s office.
A Facebook spokesperson said the company’s policy continues to forbid ads targeted to Washington state users or related to local issues. Facebook declined to comment further because it is an ongoing legal matter.
Washington state regulations, dating back to the 1970s, require companies that sell political advertisements to report who paid for the ad, how much the advertiser spent, the issue or candidate supported by the ad, and the demographics of the audience targeted. The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission voted to uphold those regulations in 2018.
Ferguson is seeking a civil penalty and an injunction that forces Facebook to maintain a public database of the legally required information on all political ads sold to Washington organizations or targeted to Washington residents.
Read the full complaint:
Facebook Complaint by GeekWire on Scribd
