Committee on Committees, Rules & Ethics
City Council Meeting November 8, 2017
ORDINANCE
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago is a duly constituted and existing municipality within the meaning of Section 1, Article VII, of the Constitution of the State of Illinois of 1970, and is a home rule unit of local government under Section 6(a), Article VII, of the Constitution, and as such, may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government affairs; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago administer elections for Mayor, City Clerk, City Treasurer, and Aldermen; and
WHEREAS, social media continues to change the way that Chicagoans consume information, share their views, and organize their communities; and
WHEREAS, social media platforms function as powerful advertising tools that not only empower but also target users with marketing and political material; and
WHEREAS, political committees of all kinds are using social media to promote issues and candidates in the City of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, the current Illinois Election Code does not include disclosure requirements when social media platforms are paid to advertise or boost content; and
WHEREAS, the Russian government and its agents used social media in an effort to disrupt the 2016 US Presidential Election; and
WHEREAS, Politico reported on October 26, 2017 that a peer-reviewed study found that Facebook, Twitter, and Google directly embedded personnel in President Trump's 2016 Presidential campaign to provide their expertise to his operations; and
WHEREAS, voters and social media users should be able to easily ascertain the source of money being used in political and issue advertising; now, therefore,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO:
SECTION 1. Section 2-156-450 is hereby amended by deleting the language struck through and by inserting the language underscored, as follows:
2-156-450 Reserved Social Media Platform & Search Engine Disclosure for Chicago Elections
Any political committee, organized under the Illinois Election Code, that makes an expenditure for a communication directed at voters and mentioning the name of a candidate in the next upcoming municipal election on social media or any search engine shall ensure that the name of the political committee paving for any part of the communication, including, but not limited to, its preparation and distribution, is identified clearly within the social media post as the payor.
Any political committee, organized under the Illinois Election Code, that makes an expenditure for a communication directed at voters (i) mentioning the name of a candidate in the next upcoming municipal election, without the candidate's permission, or (ii) advocating for or against a public policy position on social media or any search engine shall ensure that the name of the political committee paving for any part of the communication, including, but not limited to, its preparation and distribution, is identified clearly within the social media post as the payor.
Any political committee that accepts assistance from a social media or search engine company, shall disclose that assistance on its quarterly filing to the Illinois State Board of Elections. If the service was provided at no charge to the committee, the committee shall disclose the assistance as an in-kind contribution from the applicable social media company.
(d) Any social media or search engine company operating in the City of Chicago must report the amount of money spent by any political committee, organized under the Illinois Election code, subject to disclosure in paragraphs (a) or (b) of this section within 60 days of any municipal election to the Chicago Board of Ethics. This report shall be made publicly available on the Board of Ef website.
eya Pawar - Alderman, 47th Warjd—
3S
SECTION 2. This ordinance shalLtake effectJjpon passage and approval