Months away from the next presidential election, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., introduced new pieces of legislation this week that would keep America’s top tech platforms and streaming services from narrowly targeting political ads based on users’ demographic, purchasing or behavioral data.
Microtargeting allows marketers to tailor their campaigns to specific, segmented groups of people based on their social media connections, demographics, recent purchases and other data online platforms collect. Eshoo on Tuesday unveiled the Banning Microtargeted Political Ads Act, which would apply to all electioneering communications and advocacy for candidates and ultimately seeks to stop politics-driven microtargeting.
“Microtargeting political ads fractures our open democratic debate into millions of private, unchecked silos, allowing for the spread of false promises, polarizing lies, disinformation, fake news, and voter suppression,” Eshoo said in a statement. “With spending on digital ads in the 2020 election expected to exceed $1.3 billion, Congress must step in to protect our nation’s democratic process.”Tapping into the advertising strategy for political purposes has become increasingly scrutinized in the recent past, particularly as increasingly more data is used regarding individuals who have little knowledge that it’s even being collected—and concerns about it were further amplified following the 2016 presidential election, as more and more details emerged about Russian-led, targeted disinformation campaigns. In her announcement regard ..
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