Self-regulation is no substitution for congressional action on paid political ads

Just days after the introduction of the bipartisan, bicameral Honest Ads Act and the call for tech giants to testify before Congress, Twitter recently announced a new transparency policy about its advertising program. It’s a clear case of the tech industry scrambling to do damage control as it faces more congressional scrutiny.

This move toward self-regulation is no substitution for legislation like the Honest Ads Act or action by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), as explained by Issue One’s Chief of Policy, Programs and Strategy Meredith McGehee in a “tweetstorm.”  

1. Twitter announced new guidelines on transparency of political ads purchased on the platform going forward https://t.co/ZhVCL91kgU

— Meredith McGehee (@IOMcGehee) October 25, 2017

2. Twitter’s change comes hot on the heels of Congress introducing the bipartisan, bicameral #HonestAds Act (more: https://t.co/etVTtqBJ7W)

— Meredith McGehee (@IOMcGehee) October 25, 2017

3. Bloomberg’s @selina_y_wang sums up proposed changes (https://t.co/0wyUedoK2A), incl. purchaser identity, “transparency center” etc pic.twitter.com/Ahu7U8lW8E

— Meredith McGehee (@IOMcGehee) October 25, 2017

4. An important admission here: these platforms indeed already have the capability to track these political ads

— Meredith McGehee (@IOMcGehee) October 25, 2017

5. However, their guidelines don’t replace necessary, carefully considered action by Congress or @FEC ensuring consistency across the board

— Meredith McGehee (@IOMcGehee) October 25, 2017

6. A key provision in the #HonestAds Act requires disclosure of the true identity of the source paying for the ads

— Meredith McGehee (@IOMcGehee) October 25, 2017

7. Industry trade groups are lobbying for self-regulation instead of congressional action https://t.co/FEz2wxxGgH

— Meredith McGehee (@IOMcGehee) October 25, 2017

8. BUT, the companies could change their minds at any moment!

— Meredith McGehee (@IOMcGehee) October 25, 2017

9. A “just trust us” approach to such an important & sensitive issue is simply not an acceptable course. We need concrete law, not promises

— Meredith McGehee (@IOMcGehee) October 25, 2017

10. Lack of action by Congress & @FEC means foreign entities can interfere in U.S. politics and we cannot find them, or stop them

— Meredith McGehee (@IOMcGehee) October 25, 2017

11. Twitter’s commitment to transparency is not a one-size-fits-all solution to a broken, poorly enforced system of transparency

— Meredith McGehee (@IOMcGehee) October 25, 2017

12. I’ll share more after Twitter, Facebook and Google testify on Capitol Hill on November 1 about these issues – https://t.co/cz197uebuI

— Meredith McGehee (@IOMcGehee) October 25, 2017