Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed lawsuits against Facebook and Google for failing to comply with political advertising laws. Under Washington law, commercial advertisers who provide political advertising during an election campaign must maintain documents and books of account that […]
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed lawsuits against Facebook and Google for failing to comply with political advertising laws.
Under Washington law, commercial advertisers who provide political advertising during an election campaign must maintain documents and books of account that is open for public inspection.
The attorney general contends Facebook and Google have not released political advertising information sponsored through their online platforms when requested by members of the public.
If found guilty, the companies could face a penalty of $10,000 per violation for failing to maintain required information on political advertising sponsored in Washington state elections from 2013 through 2018.
February 3, 2012 •
Compliance Dream Team
ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY!
Appearing one time only at the Public Affair Council National PAC Conference is the Compliance Dream Team! I am extremely excited and honored to pair up with The Extra Honorable Ken Gross, The Mighty Honorable Michael Toner, and New Kid on The Block Amol Naik from Google to hear your confessions and questions.
This session will present a series of complicated and pertinent compliance questions to the panel for our expert response. There will also be an opportunity to submit anonymous compliance missteps for us to hear and provide corrective action.
This is bigger than Broadway…Larger than Hollywood. And, it will only happen on Tuesday, February 28th at Portofino Bay, Orlando, Florida. Join us at the Public Affairs Council National PAC Conference.
Looking forward to seeing you out and about!
Elizabeth Bartz
President and CEO, State and Federal Communications, Inc.
January 19, 2012 •
Internet Companies Flex Muscles, Challenge to Traditional Lobbying?
However you may feel about SOPA and PIPA, one thing became clear in the last day or so – something new has happened in the realm of lobbying. Here are three articles that take a look at the implications of the internet blackout from a government relations perspective:
“Google Protest of Anti-Piracy Bills Upends Traditional Lobbying” by Eric Engleman in Bloomberg News.
“One early winner in SOPA protest: Wikipedia” by Charles Cooper on CBS News.
“Silicon Valley learns fast in game of lobbying” by April Dembosky in Financial Times.
January 11, 2012 •
Google Emerging as Platform for SuperPAC Political Ads
Search based advertisements find early adopters in the 2012 presidential campaign.
With text ads, graphics ads, and even YouTube videos at their disposal, SuperPACs have a powerful tool with Google’s AdWords’ search-based advertising platform as a way to get their messages out.
This article on techPresident explores how Google is gearing up for big ad sales and what this may mean for the 2012 election cycle. Be sure to read “Google’s Preparing for Super PAC Spending Online in 2012” by Sarah Lai Stirland.
June 16, 2011 •
Obama and Google
Did the Obama re-election campaign get a special deal from Google?
Politico reported today that questions are being raised over whether Google has given President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign a special advertising deal using a new online advertising program scheduled to debut this fall.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee said it contacted Google when it saw an Obama ad and inquired about creating their own ad with the company. They claim a Google representative told them the Obama campaign received a “special deal” and that they would have to wait for the beta version to participate. Google denies the ad in question was using their new advertising system and said the Obama campaign received no such special deal.
Here is the Politico article: “Google denies special deal for Barack Obama” by Byron Tau and Ben Smith.
February 25, 2011 •
Highlighted Site of the Week – the U.S. Presidents
Google Earth and the Smithsonian Showcase the U. S. Presidents
In honor of Presidents Day (I have opted for the Associated Press Stylebook spelling), I wanted to share two websites where you can explore and learn about the Presidents of the United States in a fun, new way.
The first one is Google Earth. Always a great site for seeing the world at warp speed, Google Earth has a feature called the U.S. Presidents Showcase. Of course, you have to download the software for Google Earth before you can take the ride, but it is quick and easy to install and worth the trouble. The U.S. Presidents showcase allows you to travel the country seeing the birthplace of each president. A brief profile of the president appears showing when and where they lived and when their term of office was. It also shows a shaded map of which states voted during each president’s election. You can even see the White House in 3D!
The second site is the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery Hall of Presidents. In this online exhibition of the museum’s south wing gallery, you can find the portrait of each United States president up until Bill Clinton – although on Clinton’s page they show a bust of the president by sculptor Jan Woods, and no portrait.
If you happen to be one of those people who is snowbound today, or just find yourself with a little time to kill, have a blast meeting Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Millard Fillmore, Ulysses S. Grant, and all the rest on Google Earth. Say hello to their portraits at the Smithsonian, too.
Have a terrific weekend.
State and Federal Communications, Inc. provides research and consulting services for government relations professionals on lobbying laws, procurement lobbying laws, political contribution laws in the United States and Canada. Learn more by visiting stateandfed.com.
