About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 Ian Vandewalker, Comment of Ian Vandewalker to the California Fair Political Practices Commission Digital Transparency Task Force, May 29, 2020 1 (2020)

handle is hein.brennan/bcjian0001 and id is 1 raw text is: BRENNAN CENTER Comment of Ian Vandewalker to the California Fair Political Practices Commission Digital Transparency Task Force1 May 29, 2020 On behalf of the Brennan Center for Justice, I thank the Task Force for the opportunity to comment on the issue of transparency for online political ads in California. The Brennan Center is a nonpartisan think tank and advocacy organization that focuses on democracy and justice. We work to ensure that our elections are conducted in a way that allows all Americans to participate in a self-governing democracy. The Brennan Center has studied campaign finance issues for 20 years, working to develop effective and constitutionally sound policies and advocating for them in the courts, legislatures, and administrative bodies across the nation. Transparency about online political advertising is crucial for California elections for two main reasons: the increasing importance of highly targeted ads online, and California's history of being targeted by spending originating with unknown sources or foreign sources. I. Political Advertising Online Political advertising over the Internet has grown exponentially in recent years, yet campaign finance rules have not kept up. Although California has been a leader in campaign finance transparency, the state's democracy would benefit from greater transparency about online ads. The intemet has rapidly become a key focus of political advertising in American elections. One industry estimate predicts that political ad spending online in 2020 will hit $1.34 billion, three times higher than the 2016 cycle.2 That spending growth almost certainly understates the importance of the Internet in political campaigns, given how cheap Internet advertising is relative to other types of media.3 This is especially true in 1 Mr. Vandewalker serves as Senior Counsel in the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. This testimony does not reflect the views, if any, of New York University School of Law. 2 Kate Gibson, Spending on U.S. digital political ads to top $1 billion for first time, CBS News, February 12, 2020, 3 Traditional Media vs. Social Media Advertising, Lyfe Marketing, accessed February 15, 2018, fet,,irketl com/traditionalr-edia-versus-social-iedia/ Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law 120 Broadway, Suite 1750 NewYork, NY 10271

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most