Political Ad Campaigns: More transparency in Future on Satellite and Cable TV Stations
After successfully implementing political ad transparency rules for broadcast TV stations, the Federal Communications Commission is tackling satellite and cable stations.
Al Jazeera reported that the FCC made the announcement that it is looking into the idea of expanding the rule to require cable and satellite stations to file information to the Commission's online database for any political advertising.
Currently all broadcast radio and TV stations follow the rule, which includes filing the contracts for all political ads.
"The FCC considers the online disclosure rules for over-the-air TV to be very successful and it sees the value of extending them," Andrew Jay Schwartzman, counsel at Georgetown's Institute for Public Representation, told Al Jazeera.
Since it launched the database on Aug. 2, 2012, the FCC said it has had 5 million pageviews for the database.
The FCC seeks public comment by the end of the month on its desire to include cable and satellite, as well as require broadcast stations to use the online system -- rather than a physical paper filing system -- and for a time-frame to be introduced.
"The ad contracts offer a treasure trove of information for journalists, academics and others interested in campaign disclosure," said Kathy Keily, Sunlight Foundation's managing editor,
Sunlight, along with the Campaign Legal Center and Common Cause and the Georgetown University Law Center's Institute for Public Representation, sent a request the week prior to the FCC's announcement, asking for the expansion of the rule.
"While all TV and radio operations are required to make political ad contracts available for inspection by the public, only broadcast stations must post those documents online. To see contracts for ads purchased from cable or satellite providers, or at radio stations, members of the public must physically visit stations and request paper files," Sunlight said in a statement.
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