Coffman Takes Aim At Online Political Ads
WASHINGTON (CBS4) - Colorado Congressman Rep. Mike Coffman is co-sponsoring a bill to regulate online political advertisements.
The Republican from Aurora who represents Colorado's 6th Congressional District is making the move as the investigation into the role Russia may have planed in the last presidential election continues.
A Russian company purchased approximately 3,000 political ads on Facebook during the 2016 election.
The "Honest Ads Acts" would require large digital platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Google to maintain files of all requests for ads that cost more than $500 in a calendar year. It would also direct those platforms to take measures to keep foreign nationals from buying election ads.
In a statement on his website posted this week, Coffman said "I think it's common sense that paid political advertising should be subject to the same disclosure requirements regardless of what form it takes. The American people deserve to know who's paying for the ads they see on the internet just as much as they do the ads they see on TV or hear on the radio."
Coffman's co-sponsor is Washington Congressman Rep. Derek Kilmer, who is a Democrat. The House bill is a companion to one in the Senate.