Facebook, Google laud Md. campaign rules
Representatives of Facebook, Google and AOL praised the new rules for the social networking websites of political candidates and campaigns that were approved Thursday by the State Board of Elections, Annie Linskey reports.
Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes called the rules a “victory,” and said that the state is now “leading the way for the rest of the country.”
The board voted 4-0 to adopt the new rules, which would require campaigns to add a disclosure sentence identical to one required on printed materials to their Facebook, Twitter and other social networking websites. The sentence identifies the campaign committee paying for the material and names its treasurer.
Violators would be subject to a $1,000 fine or up to a year in prison. The rules would not apply to unofficial sites established by private citizens not affiliated with a candidate or campaign, or to government sites.
The measure now awaits approval by a panel of legislators. DeMarinis says the board is fast-tracking the rules in hope of getting them in place for the current election cycle; the Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review Committee is expected to consider them by the end of next month.
