Fake Russian Facebook accounts spark major FEC debate

Facebook's revelations last month that it sold more than $100,000 worth of ads to fake accounts tied to a Russian company could usher in a change in how the Federal Election Commission governs political advertising online.

Already, 16 senators and four House members, all Democrats, are calling on the FEC to issue new rules to prevent foreign actors from using online advertising platforms to meddle in future elections.

"We write to urge the Federal Election Commission to develop new guidance for advertising platforms on how to prevent illicit foreign spending in U.S. elections," the Democrats wrote in a letter to FEC Chairman Steven Walther on Sept. 20. "The recent revelations that foreign nationals with suspected ties to the Russian government sought to influence the 2016 election through social media advertisements are deeply concerning and demand a response."

But the questions of how and whether to regulate political advertisements online have been a source of deep divide within the FEC since well before the 2016 presidential election, and are likely to prompt more debate among the commission should it decide to issue new regulations for political spending online.

The FEC took its first step in exploring a change in the rules on disclaimers for online advertisements when it unanimously voted on Sept. 14 to reopen the period for public comment on a rulemaking notice related to online advertising.