New Rule Allows Anyone to Track Spending Online

FCC Political TV Ads: New Rule Allows Anyone to Track Spending Online Transparency in political TV ads just got a little easier for watchdog groups and others as a little-talked about FCC rule took effect Tuesday, requiring broadcasters to disclose online who paid for those spots. Exactly who is funding political ads has always been public information, but interested citizens used to have to physically travel to each television station to get it. Under the new rule, political ad buys will be available online from about 1,000 broadcasters around the country, Dennis Wharton, a spokesperson for the National Association of Broadcasters, told The Washington Post. "Suppose you're running a political campaign. Beginning now, you're going to be able to sit at your computer and find out where your competition has been taking out ads, when they got them for and for how much money," The Post reported. "That kind of information may have always been accessible if you were willing to travel to get it, but now you — or any citizen, for that matter — can find this stuff out from your computer.