Washington state’s chief law officer states Facebook and Google broke its project financing laws.
Gary Hershorn/GettyImages
Washington state has actually taken legal action against Facebook and Google for apparently stopping working to preserve details about who purchases election advertisements.
State Attorney General Bob Ferguson states the business broke state project financing law, triggering him on Monday to look for injunctions for the business’ supposed failure to reveal advertisement costs in state elections because 2013.
Ferguson published copies of the claims versus Facebook and Google on his website.
Washington prospects and political groups reported marketing payments of about $3.4 million to Facebook and $1.5 million to Google in the last years, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission.
< div class ="shortcode video v2" data-video-playlist="[{" id="" fixer-upper:="" can="" artificial="" intelligence="" clean="" up="" your="" feed="" zuckerberg="" wants="" to="" use="" ai="" tidy="" facebook.="" those="" machines="" are="" going="" see="" a="" lot="" of="" garbage...="">
Watch this:
Facebook fixer-upper: Can artificial intelligence clean…
1:36
The state’s campaign finance laws require commercial advertisers that sell political advertising to maintain information about those who purchase it, and the advertisers are required to make that information publicly available.
“Washington’s political advertising disclosure laws apply to everyone, whether you are a small-town newspaper or a large corporation,” Ferguson said in statement. “Washingtonians have a right to know who’s paying for the political advertising they see.”
Facebook says it’s in contact with Ferguson’s office and actively explaining its ad transparency features.
“The tools we are introducing set a new standard for transparency in digital advertising. We are eager to hear people’s feedback as they use these features and will continue to explore how to build upon them to ensure people know who is behind the political ads they see on Facebook,” Rob Leathern, Facebook’s director of product management, said in a statement.
“Attorney General Ferguson has raised important questions and we look forward to resolving this matter with his office quickly.”
Google said it’s “committed to transparency and disclosure in political advertising.”
“We are currently reviewing the complaint and will be engaging with the Attorney General’s office,” a spokesperson wrote.
Facebook and Twitter on May 24 added verification, disclosures and additional information to political ads on their platforms.
Update, 8:32 a.m. PT: Adds Google statement.
Fight the Power: Take a look at who’s transforming the way we think about energy.
‘Hello, humans’: Google’s Duplex could make Assistant the most lifelike AI yet.
