Facebook being sued - again - by Washington state because of political ads

Facebook said it would stop selling political ads in Washington state after the attorney general sued the company back in 2018.

Since then, Facebook has sold hundreds of ads worth a total of $525,000, according to a new lawsuit filed by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Monday. Facebook settled in 2018 for $238,000 after Facebook failed “to maintain legally required information, as our transparency laws require,” the Attorney General’s Office said in a press release.

The 2020 lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, claims Facebook failed to disclose the names of candidates and the measures supported; the date each ad ran; the names and addresses of the ads’ sponsors; the party responsible for payment and the method by which the ads were paid for, The Seattle Times reported. The Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) received complaints about Facebook’s ads, according to the Times.

The PDC referred the complaints to Ferguson after the agency found Facebook “repeatedly violated” campaign finance laws, the AG’s office said. Facebook announced it would voluntarily instate a new policy in 2018 that held the company would not run ads from Washington, rather than comply with the state’s finance laws, the attorney general said.

Ferguson’s lawsuit claims Facebook should be fined and ordered to release the required information, according to AP. But Facebook could face triple the usual penalty if a judge rules the company was “willful” in violating Washington’s laws, AP reported.

“Whether you’re a tech giant or a small newspaper, those who sell political ads must follow our campaign finance law,” Ferguson said in his office’s release. “Washingtonians have a right to know who’s behind the ads seeking to influence their vote.”

This story was originally published April 14, 2020 at 4:15 PM.