May 25, 2018 Submitted Electronically Federal Election Commission Attn.: Neven F. Stipanovic Acting Assistant General Counsel 999 E Street NW Washington, DC 20463 Subject: Comments on REG 2011-02 The League of Women Voters along with 8,601 members and supporters (see Appendix A) respectfully submit the following comments regarding FEC rulemaking on Internet Communication Disclaimers, Reg 2011-02. We respectfully request the opportunity to testify with regards to this regulation at your meeting on June 27, 2018. The League believes in transparency and disclosure in our elections. We believe that every American has the right to know who is paying for online political ads regardless of the source. We must work to ensure transparency in our elections and that Americans have access to the source of political messages. In the 2016 election, 65 percent of Americans identified the internet or an online platform as their leading source of information. Also in 2016, approximately $1.415 billion was spent on online advertising by campaigns at the local, state and national levels.1 Yet our outdated transparency rules did not require disclosure for online advertisements. The growth of the Internet and mobile technology is an important and positive development for political discourse and activities, and for increasing the number of small donors in politics, an important goal for those of us who support campaign finance reform. But with great power comes great responsibility and the influence they have on our elections requires the need for additional disclosure requirements. The League has considered the proposals that the FEC has put forward. We believe this process is important to shining a light on the impact that money in politics—both foreign and domestic—have on the decisions that voters must make when they go to the polls. The League believes at the very basic level the FEC should require online campaign ads to include disclaimers about who is paying for them. In order to protect our elections, it is essential that campaign advertisement disclosure rules consider the ways that internet advertising is different from other forms of advertising such as television and print ads. The FEC’s Internet Communication Disclaimers rule should be comprehensive and modern. Internet campaign ads should, without exception, be required to include either a full disclaimer or, if size or format makes a full disclaimer impractical, then an adapted disclaimer such as “Paid for by…” with a link to a full disclaimer in one step. The funder of an ad must be made explicit on ads because most people do not bother clicking on links. 1 Sean J. Miller, Digital Ad Spending Tops Estimates, CAMPAIGNS & ELECTIONS, Jan. 4, 2017, available at https://www.campaignsandelections.com/campaign-insider/digital-adspending-tops-estimates. The League agrees that Alternative A and Alternative B both have pieces which should be incorporated in the final regulations. We believe that Proposal A, which proposes to extend the full disclaimer requirements that apply to television and radio communications to internet communications is the best base for which to address disclaimer requirements however there are several items for Alternative B that the League supports. The League supports “stand by your ad” provisions for all types of campaign related public communications because voters have the right to know who is influencing their decisions. The League does not believe that exceptions should be made regarding disclaimer requirements, but we do support the idea of an “adapted disclaimer” for advertisements that may be too small to meet disclaimer requirements. Because often times people do not bother to click on links we are especially supportive of the technological mechanisms outlined in both proposals. We agree that the addition of the phrases “mouse over” and “roll over” in Alternative B are important clarifying additions. We also like the addition of “voice over” in Alternative B and believe the addition of this phrase is forward thinking with regards to the use of future technology. The League especially agrees with the utilization of the One-Step Technological Mechanism outlined in both proposals. Access to a full disclaimer in one step is important for determining the required disclaimer for the communication. This information should be clear and conspicuous and should not be hidden through multiple pages or clicks of content. With regards to adaptations that are presented on the face of the advertisement we believe that sections from each of the alternatives should be combined. We agree that the inclusion of the payors name would allow the person viewing the communication on any device to know “the person or group who is speaking” and would assist voters in identifying the source of advertising so they are “able to evaluate the arguments to which they are being subjected.”2 We also believe that the disclaimer should be allowed to use a recognized abbreviation, acronym or other unique identifier by which the payor is commonly known. If for example the advertisement was placed using the social networking site Twitter, we believe that allowing a twitter handle to identify the payor through the platform is acceptable. The League of Women Voters is recognizable as @LWV on Twitter. We would feel comfortable directing traffic for any advertisements that we place on twitter back to our own organization page. This would allow interested parties to view other posts and get a big picture look of the opinions of our organization and gives those parties access to the needed information. The disclaimer rule should be in place for as much of the 2018 election cycle as possible. Indeed, advertisements aimed at influencing the 2018 elections have already started attempting to gain traction on social media platforms in 2018. These dark money ads purchased by unknown actors have no place in our elections. The League would also like to address the proposed changes to the definition of “public communication.” The definition of this phrase should be expanded. In particular the word “internet” should include specific references to social networking sites, internet platforms and virtual reality. We agree with using the term “internet enabled device or application.” We would go farther to explain that this definition includes social networking sites like Linked-In, Facebook, Twitter etc., and their applications which are enabled on hand held devices or tablets. We also think that the FEC should 2 Citizens United, 558 U.S at 368 seriously consider adding video game platforms like Xbox, PlayStation and other gaming platforms to be included in this regulation. Business Insider estimates that by 2019 sponsorships and advertisements on eSports will reach $800 million dollars.3 A growing number of the electorate made up of young people and minorities are involved in the gaming community and the potential for impact is great. Barack Obama demonstrated the use of advertising in video games during the 2008 election cycle.4 Finally, we believe that the FEC should make copies of all paid internet political messages, their funding source and target audience, available to the public. Libraries like this already exist for television advertising under the Communications Act of 1934. A similar rule for internet ads will ensure enforcement of laws against foreign meddling in our elections. The League believes that the most important thing we can do to preserve the integrity of our electoral process is to increase transparency and let the sunlight shine in. Disclosure is the key to allowing voters to make their own decisions and will guard against the inevitable corruption that comes with secret money. Fair and clean elections, determined by the votes of American citizens, should be at the center of our democracy. Enhanced disclosure is the most basic step toward protecting the role of voters and ensuring that they can make informed decisions. We are joined by over 8,600 League supporters and members urging you to move forward with updating transparency and disclaimer rules for online internet communications. Your swift action to move forward with these regulations and implement them wholly or in part for the 2018 election will ensure that voters have all the information necessary to determine who is funding internet advertisements and communications meant to influence the decisions they make in our elections. Sincerely, Jeanette Senecal Senior Director of Elections League of Women Voters of the United States 1730 M. Street NW Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20036 And 8,601 League of Women Voters members and supporters listed in Appendix A 3 Business Insider Intelligence and Robert Elder, The eSports Competitive Video Gaming Market Continues to Grow Revenues &Attract Investors, Business Insider, March 15, 2017, available at http://www.businessinsider.com/esports-market-growth-ready-for-mainstream-2017-3. 4 Steve Gorman, Obama Buys First Video Game Campaign Ads, Reuters, October 17, 2008, available at https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-videogames/obama-buys-first-video-game-campaign-ads- idUSTRE49EAGL20081017. Appendix A First_Name Last_Name City State Zip Chris 92637 Laguna Woods CA 92637 Michael Cecil Burlington IA 52601 Grace Crittenden San Luis Obispo CA 93401 Edward Necker Eugene OR 97404 Kathy Sakahara Seattle WA 98115 David A Minneapolis MN 55407 James A Clark Jr Colorado Springs CO 80911 Vicki Aarsheim Ellsworth WI 54011 gay abarbanell North Fork CA 93643 Shelley Abbate Union City CA 94587 Billie Abbott Sweet Home OR 97386 Susan Abdullah Tylertown MS 39667 Susan Abell Naples FL 34113 Keren Abra San Francisco CA 94112 Barbara Abraham Leominster MA 1453 Clova Abrahamson Bartlesville OK 74003 Gloria Absi Galena OH 43021 Sherry Abts Ely MN 55731 judith ackerman New York NY 10024 Thomas Ackerman Beloit WI 53511 Eleanor Ackley Franconia NH 3580 margaret ackley Lenexa KS 66215 Jerry Acox Eminence KY 40019 Evelyn Acton Bozeman MT 59715 James Adams St.