California just passed a new law that’s all about making sure online influencers are transparent when they’re getting paid to post about politics. Apparently, they already had a law on the books that required influencers to disclose when they were being paid to post about state or local elections, but there weren’t any real consequences if they didn’t follow the rules.
This new law, called AB 1130, changes that by allowing regulators to fine influencers up to $5,000 for each time they fail to disclose a paid post. And, if it’s a really big deal, they can even refer the influencer to law enforcement for potential misdemeanor charges. It’s not like this is a new issue or anything – earlier this year, billionaire Tom Steyer paid a bunch of influencers to post about his campaign, and a lot of them didn’t disclose the payments at first.
The law was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom as part of a bigger package of bills aimed at protecting against election interference. The guy who sponsored the bill, Assemblyman Marc Berman, said he introduced it because the existing law was a bit vague and wasn’t being enforced very well. It’ll be interesting to see how this law plays out and whether other states follow California’s lead on this issue.