Facebook and Google were paid millions for political advertising purposes in Washington but failed for years to publish related information – such as the advertiser’s address – as required by state law, alleges a lawsuit by the state’s attorney general.
Washington law requires that “political campaign and lobbying contributions and expenditures be fully disclosed to the public and that secrecy is to be avoided”.
to be clear, this is about the attorney general of Washington State suing Facebook, et al; and not the the capital of the US.
This is obvious to someone who knows the US, but may not be clear if you don’t
I am not an american, but why should they show that information? If i make yard signs for political candidates for a living, do i also have to disclose whom bought each item according to US law?
If you make the signs, no. If you go out and place then so the public can see them, yes. In this case Facebook is considered the “broadcaster” (as I understand it), and therefor has to disclose
Can’t speak for US law, but yeah, that’s pretty common – many countries have laws around campaign spending that apply not just to the parties and candidates themselves, but to anyone promoting them… even if not directly affiliated.
So for example, if one of the big unions wants to spend money promoting the left-leaning party, or some business lobby-group wants to promote the right, they can do it, but there are strict rules about transparency.
Put bluntly, the public has the legal right to know who’s buying the politicians…