Twitter follows Facebook in endorsing Senate's 'Honest Ads Act'

[SAN FRANCISCO] Twitter said the Honest Ads Act, which would require broader disclosures in online political advertising, "provides an appropriate framework" for ensuring transparency in digital ads, and the company will work with legislators to "refine and advance" the proposal.

The Honest Ads Act, a Senate bill introduced last year with bipartisan co-sponsors, would subject online political ads to the same sort of disclosure rules that now govern similar content in other media such as TV and radio.

In a tweet on its public policy feed on Tuesday, Twitter effectively embraced the idea of some form of regulation of internet ads. Facebook chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg endorsed the Honest Ads Act on Friday.

Both social-media companies have been seeking ways to respond to concerns and criticism that Russian operatives used their platforms to spread discord in the 2016 US presidential election.

Last year, following the uproar over election meddling, Twitter said it was creating a new "transparency centre" that will dedicate a section to political ads that will show how much each campaign spent on advertising, the identity of the organisation funding the campaign, and what demographics the ad targeted.

Political ads will be required to identify their campaigns and will be indicated on Twitter with a different look and feel. The company also said it will introduce stronger penalties for advertisers who violate policies.

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