Violating the 1st Amendment: New Bills Would Restrict Targeted Political Ads

A new bill would prohibit large online platforms from targeting political ads to users based on demographic or behavioral information, unless they have explicitly consented to receiving such ads.

The “Banning Microtargeted Political Ads Act,” introduced Tuesday by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-California), would continue to allow political ad targeting based on data about users' states, municipalities or congressional districts.

The measure would apply to all websites, including social networks and search engines, that have collected or processed personal information of at least 50 million people.

The measure would continue to allow campaigns to target electioneering ads based on data about users' states, municipalities or congressional districts.

The measure would apply to all websites, including social networks and search engines, that have collected or processed personal information of at least 50 million people. It would also apply to ads for or against political candidates.

A separate bill, the “Protecting Democracy from Disinformation Act,” slated to be introduced by Rep. David Cicilline (D-Rhode Island), would allow political ads to be targeted based only on location, age and gender.