Legal Director Allen Dickerson Testifies at Hearing on Internet Ad Disclaimers
Alexandria, VA – Institute for Free Speech Legal Director Allen Dickerson urged the Federal Election Commission to adopt flexible rules for online ad disclaimers at an FEC hearing Wednesday morning.
“Americans must be able to use any commercially available advertising product to promote a political message,” said Dickerson. “If the mandated disclaimer takes up the majority of an ad, the speaker’s message will be overwhelmed by the government’s. Speakers will not use such ads, and the Commission will have effectively banned certain forms of advertising from being used for political advocacy.”
Dickerson was invited to speak on the first of several panels convened to provide feedback on competing proposals to regulate Internet ad disclaimers. In his opening remarks, he criticized the Commission for seeking “to regulate the briefest, most cost-effective means of communicating with our fellow citizens.” He advised the FEC to adopt “common sense” exceptions to Internet disclaimer requirements, similar to those already on the books for physical advertisements.
“Is there any question that campaigns would often forego campaign buttons if they required the full disclaimers required for printed material? Is there any doubt that advertisers will not run six-second online ads if they must include 4 seconds of a mandatory disclaimer?” asked Dickerson.
In addition to providing guidance on ad disclaimers, Dickerson challenged the notion that the FEC can play a meaningful role in deterring foreign interference in U.S. elections. Many commentators, including some commissioners, have suggested that Russian Facebook ads during the 2016 election cycle demonstrate a need for new regulations on Internet speech.
Even if the FEC “had called this hearing years earlier, and used its authority to the hilt, it would have added a disclaimer to some subset of 100 ads worth, perhaps, a few thousand dollars. Of course, those ads were already illegal,” Dickerson noted.
The Institute for Free Speech has filed comments with the FEC numerous times in recent years advising the Commission on how to implement reasonable, speech-friendly disclaimer rules for Internet ads. Dickerson’s remarks concluded with three specific recommendations to the Commission.
“First, the adopted rule must allow speakers to use any commercially available product they choose. Especially when that product is cheap, readily available, and thus a prime candidate for use by modest, unsophisticated speakers. Second, it should establish a clear line so that speakers know precisely when a disclaimer is required and what it must say. Third, this guidance must be flexible enough to be applied in the future, without further rulemaking, as technology evolves,” he concluded.
To read the Institute’s comments to the FEC, click here.
About the Institute for Free Speech
The Institute for Free Speech is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that promotes and defends the First Amendment rights to freely speak, assemble, publish, and petition the government. Originally known as the Center for Competitive Politics, it was founded in 2005 by Bradley A. Smith, a former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission. The Institute is the nation’s largest organization dedicated solely to protecting First Amendment political rights.
