If you are as fed up with the number, frequency and content of political ads as I am, here is some welcome news. We do not have to wait for Congress to act in order to find out whose money is speaking. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has the power to force the disclosure of who is paying for ads. (For example, we deserve to know who those "Americans for Prosperity" are. An organization's name is not enough - who funds the ads.) But the FCC will only take action if we citizens make our voices heard.
According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study:
“The FCC is responsible for ensuring that the public knows when and by whom it is being persuaded.” Again, this requirement applies to both commercial and political advertising. In fact, the GAO states, “For content considered political or that discusses a controversial issue, broadcasters must follow all requirements for commercial content and additional requirements, such as indentifying officials associated with the entity paying for an advertisement.”
It is Section 317 of the Communications Act (47 U.S.C. §47) that requires on-air identification of ad sponsors. Explaining the rules it wrote to implement the law, the FCC stipulated years ago that political ads must “fully and fairly disclose the true identity of the person or persons, or corporation, committee, association or other unincorporated group, or other entity” paying for them. “Listeners are entitled to know by whom they are being persuaded,” said the FCC. I think we all get the drift of what’s being required here: specific identification of who is really bank-rolling all this stuff?Read more about this from the source of the above quote at http://benton.org/node/148065
Here are some ways to take action:
- Best way: Contact the FCC chairman and each of the commissioners and urge them to issue updated rules for Section 317 that will require the true identity of those individuals and organizations who are paying for political and issues ads to be listed.
Chairman Tom Wheeler: Tom.Wheeler@fcc.gov
Commissioner Mignon Clyburn: Mignon.Clyburn@fcc.gov
Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel: Jessica.Rosenworcel@fcc.gov
Commissioner Ajit Pai: Ajit.Pai@fcc.gov
Commissioner Michael O’Rielly: Mike.O'Rielly@fcc.gov
- Another good way: Sign the "Tell the FCC to Enforce Disclosure" petition on the Common Cause web site.
Involved Voters acting together can help reduce the impact of the recent US Supreme Court's decisions regarding money and political speech.
