The Wall Street Journal: McCain supports bill requiring better disclosure for online political ads

WASHINGTON — A proposal to require social media companies to disclose information about political advertising on their platforms has drawn the support of a key Senate Republican.

Sen. John McCain (R, Ariz.), a longtime proponent of stricter political advertising disclosure rules and spending restrictions, has signed onto a bill being written by two Senate Democrats that was prompted by concerns about Russian activity on social media during the 2016 election, according to a statement from his office.

The proposal — which will be officially unveiled on Capitol Hill on Thursday — will require social media companies such as Facebook Inc.

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  to keep a public repository of political advertising that runs on their platforms, similar to the rules governing broadcast television and radio advertising.

Democratic Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota are the primary authors of the legislation. McCain is a leading Republican senator on national security issues and has successfully championed campaign-finance legislation in the past despite skepticism among GOP lawmakers.

An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.

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