New groups aim to spend big on election ads
By Sharon Theimer
WASHINGTON (AP) --Two new groups — one Republican-leaning, the other pro-Democratic — seeking to capitalize on a Supreme Court ruling allowing the use of unlimited donations for ads targeting candidates have gotten the go-ahead from election officials.
The Federal Election Commission on Thursday approved plans by the conservative Club for Growth and by Democratic activists to collect big contributions for ads on candidates. Both say the committees set up to run the ads will disclose their donors and spending to the FEC in publicly available reports.
A Supreme Court ruling in January allows the use of unlimited donations from individuals, corporations and unions for election-time ads that urge people to vote for or against specific candidates and are run independently of campaigns and political parties. The court struck down restrictions on political ads, saying they violated free-speech rights.
The FEC’s decisions on the two organizations do not necessarily mean it will be clear to voters where all interest groups airing ads this election season are getting their money.
The two groups voluntarily decided to file with the commission as political committees and periodically reveal who their donors are, but there are some political activists who believe that under the Supreme Court ruling, that degree of disclosure isn’t required to legally raise corporate and union money for ads that target specific candidates.
The commission has yet to set new rules in light of the court decision that clearly spell out which ad spenders need to register with it, how much information they must give the public about their fundraising and spending, and when. It is unlikely to do so before the November election, when control of Congress is at stake. Legislation that would require those who air ads supporting or attacking candidates to disclose details about their activities has yet to clear Congress.
The Club for Growth told the commission its new committee will raise unlimited donations from individuals for the ads, and that it will run its ads on candidates without coordinating with campaigns, political parties or other outside groups.
The other group asking the commission for guidance on its plans, Commonsense Ten, said it will raise unlimited money from unions, corporations and individuals for ads calling for the election or defeat of candidates.
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More