Twitter has pledged to reveal its federal campaign contributions within 48 hours. Current federal law allows political action committees to delay reporting contributions for weeks and months. Twitter began lobbying in 2013 on such issues as patent reform, commercial data security, e-mail privacy and government surveillance. (The Center for Public Integrity, November 4, 2015, by Dave Levinthal)
Richard Skinner of the Sunlight Foundation, November 13, 2015, hailed Twitter’s announcement as “the most rapid disclosure policy adopted by a major U.S. corporation” and hoped it would influence other corporations to adopt similar policies.
The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Washington, November 8, 2015, wrote in an editorial that to keep corporate influence in check, it was essential to buck the Citizens United decision that struck down limits on transparency. “We could have instant disclosure of contributors if Congress would pass a law that closed the dark-money loopholes. Back when Congress passed the McCain-Feingold campaign contribution limits, critics said transparency, not regulation, was the answer to thwarting undue influence,” they wrote.