A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to define and regulate digital communication in electioneering communications and advertising disclosures.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 163A‑1411 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(81)	The term "qualified digital communication" means any communication, for a fee, placed or promoted on a public‑facing Web site, Web application, or digital application, including a social network, advertising network, or search engine."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 163A‑1411(41), as amended by Section 3.4(m) of S.L. 2018‑144, reads as rewritten:
"(41)	The term "electioneering communication" means any broadcast, cable, or satellite communication, or mass mailing, or telephone bank, or qualified digital communication that has all the following characteristics:
a.	Refers to a clearly identified candidate for elected office.
b.	In the case of the general election in November of the even‑numbered year is aired or transmitted after September 7 of that year, and in the case of any other election is aired or transmitted within 60 days of the time set for absentee voting to begin pursuant to G.S. 163A‑1300, 163A‑1302, 163A‑1303, and 163A‑1304 in an election for that office.
c.	May be received by the following:
1.	50,000 or more individuals in the State in an election for statewide office or 7,500 or more individuals in any other election if in the form of broadcast, cable, or satellite communication.
2.	20,000 or more households, cumulative per election, in a statewide election or 2,500 households, cumulative per election, in any other election if in the form of mass mailing or telephone bank."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 163A‑1475(1) reads as rewritten:
"(1)	"Advertisement" means any message appearing in the print media, on television or radio, or through a qualified digital communication that constitutes a contribution or expenditure under this Article."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 163A‑1476 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163A‑1476.  Basic disclosure requirements for all political advertisements.
(a)	Basic Requirements. – It shall be unlawful for any sponsor to sponsor an advertisement in the print media, on radio or television, or through a qualified digital communication that constitutes an expenditure, independent expenditure, electioneering communication, or contribution required to be disclosed under this Article unless all the following conditions are met:
(1)	It bears the legend or includes the statement: "Paid for by ____ [Name of candidate, candidate campaign committee, political party organization, political action committee, referendum committee, individual, or other sponsor]." In television or qualified digital communication advertisements, this disclosure shall be made by visual legend.
…
(b)	Size Requirements. – The following shall apply to the various forms of advertisement:
(1)	In a print media advertisement covered by subsection (a) of this section, the height of all disclosure statements required by that subsection shall constitute at least five percent (5%) of the height of the printed space of the advertisement, provided that the type shall in no event be less than 12 points in size. In an advertisement in a newspaper or a newspaper insert, the total height of the disclosure statement need not constitute five percent of the printed space of the advertisement if the type of the disclosure statement is at least 28 points in size. If a single advertisement consists of multiple pages, folds, or faces, the disclosure requirement of this section applies only to one page, fold, or face.
(2)	In a television advertisement covered by subsection (a) of this section, the visual disclosure legend shall constitute four percent (4%) of vertical picture height in size, and where the television advertisement that appears is paid for by a candidate or candidate campaign committee, the visual disclosure legend shall appear simultaneously with an easily identifiable photograph of the candidate for at least two seconds.
(3)	In a radio advertisement covered by subsection (a) of this section, the disclosure statement shall last at least two seconds, provided the statement is spoken so that its contents may be easily understood.
(4)	In a qualified digital communication advertisement covered by subsection (a) of this section, the disclosure statement shall appear (i) in letters at least as large as the smallest text in the qualified digital communication or (ii) in a heading or similar section of text displayed above or within the qualified digital communication that is visually distinct from the text of the qualified digital communication and shall have a reasonable degree of color contrast between the background and the disclosure statement. If the qualified digital communication is disseminated through a medium in which the provision of the disclosure statement is not possible, the qualified digital communication shall, in a clear and conspicuous manner, include the following:
a.	The name of the person who paid for the qualified digital communication.
b.	A means for the recipient of the qualified digital communication to obtain the remainder of the information required by this section with minimal effort and without receiving or viewing any additional material other than the disclosure statement.
(c)	Misrepresentation of Authorization. – Notwithstanding G.S. 163A‑1445(a), any candidate, candidate campaign committee, political party organization, political action committee, referendum committee, individual, or other sponsor making an advertisement in the print media, on radio or television, or through a qualified digital communication bearing any legend required by subsection (a) of this section that misrepresents the sponsorship or authorization of the advertisement is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor."
SECTION 5.  G.S. 163A‑1477 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163A‑1477.  Scope of disclosure requirements.
The disclosure requirements of this Part apply to any sponsor of an advertisement in the print media or on radio or television, or through a qualified digital communication the cost or value of which constitutes an expenditure or contribution required to be disclosed under this Article, except that the disclosure requirements of this Part:
(1)	Do not apply to an individual who makes uncoordinated independent expenditures aggregating less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in a political campaign; and
(2)	Do not apply to an individual who incurs expenses with respect to a referendum.
The disclosure requirements of this Part do not apply to any advertisement the expenditure for which is required to be disclosed by G.S. 163‑278.12A alone and by no other law."
SECTION 6.  Part 2 of Article 23 of Chapter 163A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 163A‑1478.  State Board to maintain records of qualified digital communications for political advertising.
Any person making a qualified digital communication, as defined under G.S. 163A‑1411(81), that is covered by G.S. 163A‑1476(a) shall submit that qualified digital communication to the State Board along with the disclosure information required under G.S. 163A‑1476. The State Board shall maintain the information submitted pursuant to this section on the State Board's Web site and the information shall be deemed public records and available for inspection on the Web site. The State Board shall display the following information on its Web site as related to the qualified digital communication:
(1)	The name of the person.
(2)	The city and state where the entity is located.
(3)	The amount spent by the person for each candidate.
(4)	A copy of the political advertisement.
(5)	The dates or date range on which the political advertisement runs."
SECTION 7.  This act becomes effective September 1, 2019, and applies to elections conducted on or after that date.