Following a federal push for more disclosure, and amid investigations into Russian meddling into American elections, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is proposing legislation to close legal loopholes in New York regarding political ads on the internet, with the goal of pressuring companies like Facebook to root out foreign-based interlopers in online campaigns.
The proposal, announced on Thursday and due to be introduced to the Legislature early next year, closely hews to a federal bill introduced in October by a pair of Democratic senators — Mark Warner of Virginia and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota — and Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. That bill, the Honest Ads Act, would require internet companies to reveal who is paying for political advertising on their sites by amending federal election law, which dates to the early 1970s, to include “paid internet or paid digital communication.” Print, radio and television are already subject to such regulations.