Government to crack down on online political campaigns
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The government has today outlined proposals for new laws designed to improve the transparency of political advertising on social media.
The new measures would require political parties and campaigners to clearly state who they are when promoting campaign content online.
Under the plans, all campaigners would be required to include a digital imprint containing their identity and affiliations, regardless of which country it originates from or which platform it appears on.
The rules, which are now subject to a consultation, are intended to apply all year round, not only during election periods. However, they would only apply to election material and not to wider political advertising.
The government said the new rules would be aimed at all campaign material posted by registered political parties and third-party campaigners, whether paid or organic.
Other campaigners would only be required to use a digital imprint where the content has been paid for, ensuring that the press and members of the public can continue to exercise free speech online.
“People want to engage with politics online; that’s where campaigners connect with voters and is why ahead of elections, almost half of political advertising budgets are now spent on digital content and activity,” said Chloe Smith, minister for the constitution & devolution.
“But people want to know who is talking. Voters value transparency, so we must ensure that there are clear rules to help them see who is behind campaign content online.”
The move follows heavy criticism of the government over its failure to take action against the spread of political misinformation online and a lack of transparency over spending.
In a long-awaited report published last month the intelligence and security committee said the government had “badly underestimated” the threat from Russia and had failed to investigate the country’s interference in the EU referendum.
The report, which covered cyber attacks as well as disinformation campaigns, said the UK was “clearly a target” during election periods.
Tech firms have also come under fire for their lack of regulation of online political advertising and the resulting spread of misinformation.
Last year Twitter opted to ban political adverts on its platform, with boss Jack Dorsey stating that “reach should be earned, not bought”.
By contrast, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has resisted calls to crack down on political ads, arguing that private companies should not be the “arbiters of truth”. However, the social media platform last month said users could choose to turn off political ads.
Currently, Facebook requires political advertisers to go through an authorisation process and include a ‘paid for’ disclaimer on their ads.
“We have long called for updated rules for the era of digital political campaigning and so we welcome the government’s consultation,” said Rebecca Stimson, head of UK public policy at Facebook.
“Facebook has led the way on online transparency by requiring all political ads on our platforms to have a ‘paid for by’ disclaimer and placing them into an Ad Library for everyone to see. We look forward to further engaging with the government on this important consultation.”