In California, it is proposed to impose fines on influencers due to hidden advertising of political candidates.
In California, they want to fine influencers for hidden advertising of political candidates. According to the Associated Press, the authors of the bill propose to give the state election commission the right to independently impose a fine of up to 5,000 dollars for each violation, without going to court.
The reason for the tightening of the rules was the rapid spread of political advertising through social media. American pre-election headquarters cooperate more often not only with famous big names, but also with small bloggers, which give them the opportunity to appeal to narrower and more loyal audiences.
Back in 2023, California required content creators to report if they received money for publication from a political campaign. However, the implementation of the existing mechanism has been difficult. the electoral commission can demand the influencer to reveal the fact of payment through the court, and the investigation can last several months.
A new bill introduced by Democrat Mark Berman aims to simplify the procedure. If the influencer does not indicate that he received money for political material, both the author and the political committee can be fined.
"Voters should have the right to know if campaigns are paying for the messages they see," Berman said.
A lot of attention was paid to the issue when bloggers and celebrities published political content without clearly indicating its advertising nature. In 2022, John Fetterman's Senate campaign paid for Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi for a video criticizing his Republican opponent. In 2023, influencers were paid to support Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton after his impeachment. In both cases, the fact of payment was not clearly stated.
One of the most notable participants in the new political advertising market is Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer, who spent more than $215 million of his own money on his unsuccessful campaign for governor of California. He was criticized for cooperating with influencers, as his rivals had already accused Steyer of trying to "buy" the election.
Los Angeles blogger Shaka Smith, who has more than 700,000 followers, publicly disclosed to his audience that he received money from Steyer's campaign. He published two commercials and admitted that he earned several thousand dollars from them.
"They trust my voice. They knew that if I'm saying this, then it's at least worth checking out," Smith said about his audience.
At the same time, the influencers themselves have different opinions about the new fines. Some consider payment disclosure necessary for election transparency, while others fear that potential sanctions would create too much of a burden for small authors.
California has become one of two US states, along with Texas, that already have payment disclosure requirements for political content. Similar rules are being discussed in New York, and Senator Adam Schiff of California introduced a corresponding bill at the federal level last month.
Supporters of the regulation believe that the spread of political advertising through bloggers will only increase ahead of the US midterm elections and the 2028 presidential campaign. For more information on election processes, campaign finance and official regulations in the United States, you can visit the official websites of the California Secretary of State or the Federal Election Commission.
