The Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to begin requiring cable television, satellite and radio stations to begin uploading information about political advertising to an online database.
To date, the stations have been allowed to maintain physical copies of the required records at their headquarters, an allowance the commission said was antiquated. “This kind of requirement may have made sense in the ‘Mad Men’ era, but it makes no sense in the digital age,” Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said.
Broadcast television providers have been required to use the online database since 2012. Thursday’s vote will expand the rule’s application, pending approval by the Office of Management and Budget. The first disclosures should be posted online within three to six months.
Though the change passed the commission in a bipartisan 5-0 vote, Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai said he had reservations about a rule requiring noncommercial educational stations to post lists of donors online. The National Religious Broadcasters, which describes itself as an “international association of Christian communications,” came out against the rule.
“Donors may choose to refrain from contributing either because they do not wish to have their privacy violated, or because they fear retaliation for supporting noncommercial radio stations that take unpopular or controversial positions,” the group said in a comment on the rule.
Pai said the group’s position was a valid one. “The point about retaliation is one that I take very seriously,” Pai wrote. “It has become disturbingly common for people with unpopular or controversial positions to be harassed, shouted down, or intimidated.”
“I do not believe that the FCC should do anything that could enable this kind of bullying,” he added. “It principally serves to chill public debate and impoverish the marketplace of ideas, and it is unbecoming of a nation that cherishes its First Amendment freedoms.”
Pai noted that the commission’s majority, which consists of three Democrats, did not agree. However, that component will not take effect until 2018, and the commission was able to agree on an exemption that will allow NCEs to seek a waiver to the requirement if they fear retaliation against their donors.
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“It [is] my hope that the commission will revisit this question before it is implemented,” Pai said.
