Federal Communications Commission (FCC) | Center for Effective Government

Campaign Transparency Efforts Continue in Congress and the FCC

Jul 1, 2014 by Lukas Autenried

Amid growing concerns about untracked spending on elections, two different efforts are underway to try to shed new light on this critical aspect of our democracy. First, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) on June 24 reintroduced the DISCLOSE Act, which would require groups trying to influence elections to disclose their funding sources. Second, the July 1 reporting deadline for the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) online political file rule has arrived. The rule requires broadcast television stations to post information online about political advertisements.

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Shedding Light on Political Ads: Database Should Be Comprehensive, Easier to Use

On Aug. 26, the Center for Effective Government joined comments by the Public Interest Public Airwaves Coalition and the Sunlight Foundation urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make information about televised political advertisements more accessible. Greater disclosure of political ad spending will strengthen the integrity of our elections by informing voters about who is buying such ads.

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Political Ad Transparency Will Advance After House GOP Drops Effort to Block FCC Rule

Jun 20, 2012 by Gavin Baker

This morning, Republican members of the House Appropriations Committee reversed their position and allowed a crucial new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) transparency rule to stand. The FCC rule, adopted in April, requires television broadcasters to disclose who is buying political advertisements. These disclosures will be posted in a public online database.

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Political Ad Transparency at Risk as Republicans and Special Interests Attack

In April, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved reforms to modernize the disclosure requirements for broadcasters operating on the public airwaves. The rule will expose the influence of money in politics by making information about who is financing political advertising available online. However, the transparency rule is under attack: broadcasters quickly filed suit against the FCC, while House Republicans attached a policy provision to a spending bill that would block the rule from taking effect.

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FCC Rule Will Modernize Broadcaster Transparency, Illuminate Money in Politics

On April 27, the Federal Communications Commission approved reforms to modernize the disclosure requirements for broadcasters operating on the public airwaves. The rule will create an online database of TV stations' public files – previously available only by appearing in person at station offices – expanding public access to information about the stations' content, including political advertisements. But even as the rule moves forward, significant loopholes remain that will leave the public in the dark about political ad buys in substantial areas of key states during the current election season.

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Regulating Political Advertisements: Looking Beyond the FEC

Over the past several election cycles, the statement that “I’m John Smith, and I approved this message” has become a ubiquitous part of the political lexicon. If the Media Access Project has its way, however, a whole new series of disclosures will become just as familiar to the American public.

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Supreme Court: No "Privacy" for Corporations

Mar 1, 2011 by Gavin Baker

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that corporations are not subject to the personal privacy exemption of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The 8-0 ruling in Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T overturned a lower court ruling in AT&T's favor, which transparency advocates had worried could have imposed significant new barriers to public access to information.

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Corporate Secrecy at Issue in Supreme Court Case

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Jan. 19 in a case that could have far-reaching ramifications for public access to corporate-related information. AT&T, fighting to prevent disclosure of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) files investigating the company, has argued that releasing the documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) would damage the company's privacy. This argument comes despite the fact that the expectation of privacy has long been recognized only as an individual right, not a corporate one.

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