Honest Ads Act
Latest action. Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
Honest Ads Act
This bill applies requirements, limitations, and protections regarding political advertising in traditional media to paid internet or digital political advertising. The bill sets forth special rules for disclosure statements for certain internet or digital ads.
Each television or radio station, provider of cable or satellite television, or online platform must ensure that the political advertising it hosts is not directly or indirectly purchased by a foreign national.
The bill outlines political record requirements for online platforms, including by requiring these platforms to publish a record of any qualified political advertisement purchased by a person whose aggregate purchases of qualified political advertisements on the platform during the calendar year exceeds $500.
Additionally, these online platforms must display notices with online political advertisements that identify the sponsor of the advertisement.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on April 13, 2023. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 13, 2023: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Derek Kilmer (D-WA) introduced it on April 13, 2023, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 2 Democrats, 2 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 13, 2023, 1246 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1246 days ago, on April 13, 2023.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 118th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2025 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers