21 September 2026
The Federal Election Commission has updated its disclaimer rules for internet political advertisements. Effective for the 2024 elections, paid social media posts, digital videos, and online ads will require disclosures that identify who paid for the messaging.
Internet political messaging has rapidly increased in volume and sophistication. Political spending on digital ads more than doubled from 2018 to 2022, rising from $900 million to $1.9 billion. The FEC’s new rule aims to make political ad sponsor identities easier to determine as messaging shifts to digital platforms from traditional media.
Updated requirements
The FEC’s updated requirements apply to public communications over the internet made for a fee on websites, apps, digital devices, and ad platforms. Along with the new focus on internet ads, the rule extends the "public communication" definition to bring digital messaging in line with earlier FEC policies for traditional media.
An internet political communication now needs to include a clear and conspicuous disclaimer. The text must appear in the advertisement itself, according to the FEC’s updated guidelines. Information to be included will vary by the nature of the messaging and its sponsor.
As the FEC phrased it in its rulemaking, "For a public communication conveyed over the internet, the sponsor must be disclosed on the face of the communication. The disclaimer must appear on a screen or page where the communication is prominently displayed and must be legible, may not be obscured, and the typeface must match the text size of the advertisement."
Condensed disclosures
If space on an ad limits the room for a complete disclaimer, the FEC allows an adapted disclosure. The rules set a 25 percent space threshold to trigger a condensed disclosure. The compressed text can use abbreviations, but the full disclaimer must then be available via hover text, pop-ups, scrolling displays, or a link to a page with complete information.
The FEC’s updated rules are the latest reform aimed at improving transparency for political spending on the internet. Political messaging has expanded beyond social media to include digital videos, mobile apps, and connected devices. Campaign spending reported to the FEC reached $1.9 billion in the 2022 election cycle, up from $900 million in the 2018 midterms.
The FEC’s efforts add to years of advisory opinions that have sought to clarify requirements for political ad sponsors online. The FEC’s advertising guidelines already specify that any public communication by a political committee must display a disclaimer.
Federal law requires organizations making independent expenditures over $250 in a year to disclose donations and expenses to the FEC. The disclosure regime targets certain nonprofit organizations active in politics, including 501(c)(4) groups.
Nonprofits making political expenditures over the threshold must report their expenses, agreements, and donation details to the FEC. The rules apply only to nonprofits engaged in direct campaign activities, and critics note many sources of anonymous political donations remain beyond these requirements.
Reactions to the FEC’s latest policy are still developing as interest groups prepare for the 2024 elections. While the rule improves transparency for online political ads, the FEC has historically faced gridlock on campaign finance issues, and the disclosures don't address broader concerns about anonymous donations.