ECU to launch week-long grassroots campaign mobilizing members to submit comments with FEC
Campaign comes on the heels of multiple indictments in Russia investigation; Capitol Hill hearings with tech giants
Washington, DC — Ahead of Twitter, Facebook and Google’s testimony in this week’s Congressional hearings on Russia’s meddling in last year’s election, End Citizens United (ECU) today launched a week-long grassroots campaign to demand action from the Federal Elections Commission regarding digital advertising. The campaign comes a day after multiple members of the Trump campaign, including its former chairman Paul Manafort, were indicted as part of the special counsel’s investigation into Russia’s interference.
With more than three million members nationwide, ECU will mobilize its members in every state to submit their own comments with the FEC calling for stronger disclosure requirements for digital ads ahead of the November 9th deadline. The grassroots campaign will also include a national day of action on November 1 with allied groups including: Stand Up America, Issue One, Public Citizen, Common Cause, MoveOn, Center for American Progress, Demand Progress, People for the American Way, Open Secrets, Center for Digital Democracy, March for Truth, CREDO, Free Speech for People and Democracy 21.
ECU President Tiffany Muller has submitted a comment on behalf of End Citizens United with the FEC urging it to revise its regulations on internet communications to increase transparency for digital political spending.
Under current FEC regulations, digital communications are not required to have disclaimers on ads, allowing individuals to influence elections without revealing their identities. Last election cycle, online political advertising spending topped over $1.4 billion. With two-thirds of Americans claiming they receive news from social media, our campaign finance system contains a glaring digital loophole. The lack of rules and regulations allowed Russia to spend an undisclosed amount of money in our elections.
The grassroots campaign is part of a larger focus by ECU on the issue of foreign spending in U.S. elections. Earlier this year, ECU, alongside Every Voice, launched “Independent Investigation Now” into Russia’s attempts to rig the election and endorsed Rep. Jamie Raskin’s ‘Get Foreign Money Out of U.S. Elections’ Act, running digital ads in eight house districts in support of the bill. In October, ECU joined 26 reform groups and experts to endorse the Honest Ads Act and launched a petition drive in support of the bill, created aninfographic detailing how foreign nationals can influence U.S. elections, and most recently joined civic groups and industry experts urging Facebook and Google to the support the Honest Ads Act.
You can read End Citizens United’s comment to the FEC below:
Dear Commissioners:
On behalf of End Citizens United’s 3.3 million members, I am writing to encourage the FEC to revise its regulations on internet communications to increase transparency for digital political spending. This issue demands the Committee’s attention and is paramount to ensuring our elections remain fair and free from improper and unlawful influence.
Almost daily, new developments about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election further expose our vulnerability and lack of preparedness. The ability of foreign governments to undermine our democracy is a direct attack on the United States and a matter of national security.
Last election cycle, political online advertising spending topped over $1.4 billion. That advertising, which had virtually no transparency, left Americans in the dark and unable to determine who is attempting to influence their votes. Revelations that a Russian troll farm, under direction from the Kremlin, bought Facebook and Google ads and that Russian-linked accounts on Twitter spread misinformation to millions of Americans have demonstrated the extent to which Russian propaganda was embedded in our lives and culture. When we logged onto Facebook to wish our friend ‘Happy Birthday’ or scroll through Twitter to catch up on the news, Russian agents halfway across the world were secretly manipulating these platforms to insert themselves into our political debate.
Today, two-thirds of Americans receive news from social media, yet political spending on the internet operates like the Wild West without real enforcement or oversight. Loopholes the size of the Kremlin allowed Russia to spend an undisclosed amount of money in our elections – all while our government sat idly by, rendered toothless by a broken, gridlocked and outdated campaign finance system.
We may never learn how often and how much Russia or other foreign countries spent to subvert our elections in 2016, but we can do better. The FEC should mandate internet disclaimers on all paid political communication – just as they would for television, radio or print communications. Americans have a right to know who is trying to influence their vote – whether it be international or domestic, from Russia to Wall Street. A point which an overwhelming 78% of Americans agree on in a new Marist poll.
Increased transparency doesn’t just help voters make more informed decisions, it restores voters’ trust in the system and helps prevent individuals, organizations and foreign governments that are not allowed to make political contributions from secretly poisoning our political debates.
Our elections are the bedrock of our democracy. They deserve our protection.
Sincerely,
Tiffany Muller
President
End Citizens United
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