Hundreds of millions of dollars in online political ad spending will go largely unregulated in this year’s elections, leaving open a channel for hidden election influence by foreign powers and others.
Partisan divisions in Congress and on the Federal Election Commission have stalled efforts to require more disclosure of who’s funding paid messaging on Facebook and other internet platforms, which Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation found Russia used to try to sway the 2016 election.
And a recent court decision could set back efforts by states including California, New York and Washington to fill the breach left by federal regulators. ...