The social networking site Facebook is arguing that when it comes to disclosing the backers of political advertising, size matters.
Federal regulations require political advertising to say who’s behind it and who the money came from. But there are exceptions. Some ads, such as bumper stickers, can be too small for disclosure statements. In a letter to the Federal Election Commission, Facebook makes a similar case for its “standard ads,” which allow 25 characters for the title and 135 characters of text.
According to the news Web site California Watch, California regulators have taken a tougher approach than the feds. While the ad itself might not provide space for a disclosure, the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission decided, any pages linked to the ad could.