Wash. Admin. Code § 390-18-050 - Commercial advertisers-Public inspection of records
(1) "Commercial advertiser" as that term is
used in the act and these rules is defined under
RCW
42.17A.005.
(2) Any person that hosts political
advertising or electioneering communications on a digital communication
platform or other media is not required to maintain records on such advertising
or communications if the services have been purchased directly through another
commercial advertiser, however the commercial advertiser that directly sells
the services must maintain the information as required in this section. In
order to ensure that such commercial advertiser directly makes its books of
account available for public inspection, when selling digital media services to
be hosted on another platform or other media, the advertiser must include a
separate text box or link that automatically appears with the advertisement or
communication in a manner that is compatible with the device and technology
used to display the advertising, and that reasonably directs the reader to at
least one method under subsection (4) of this section for making the required
information available. Such methods may include, but are not limited to, an
address or location for receiving in-person inquiries, a link to a portal for
processing requests, or a link to a website where the required information is
maintained.
(3) Pursuant to
RCW
42.17A.345, each commercial advertiser who
has accepted or provided political advertising, or electioneering
communications, must maintain current books of account and related materials as
required by this section. Information contained in books of account must be
updated within 24 hours of the time when an advertisement or communication
initially has been publicly distributed or broadcast, and within 24 hours of
any update or change to such information. Such records must be maintained for a
period of no less than five years after the date of the applicable
election.
(4) Until such time as
the PDC provides an open access platform on its website for this information,
which will replace the following methods of inspection for all required
information, such information must be available for public inspection by any
person, and provided:
(a) In person during
normal business hours; or
(b)
Electronically, in machine readable format and structured in a way that enables
the data to be fully discoverable and useable by the end user:
(i) By digital transmission, such as email,
promptly upon request, but no later than two business days; or
(ii) By online publication in one of the
following formats:
(A) On the advertiser's
primary website; or
(B) On a
website controlled by the advertiser, created for purposes of publishing the
information required by this section, if a link is prominently displayed on the
advertiser's primary website directing users to the website on which the
information is provided.
(5) A commercial advertiser may have, to the
extent necessary, up to three business days to update its books of account upon
receiving notice regarding any missing political advertising or electioneering
communication, if:
(a) At the time the order
was placed, the commercial advertiser had asked the purchaser in writing
whether the order included any political advertising or electioneering
communication;
(b) The purchaser
did not provide such information; and
(c) The order was not reasonably identifiable
to the commercial advertiser as political advertising or an electioneering
communication.
(6) The
information and books of account that must be maintained open for public
inspection pursuant to
RCW
42.17A.345 are:
(a) The name of the candidate or ballot
measure supported or opposed or the name of the candidate otherwise
identified;
(b) A copy of the
advertisement or communication in a print or digital graphic record for any
media with a visual component, or in an audio or transcribed record for any
radio or other media that does not include a visual component;
(c) The name and address of the sponsoring
person or persons actually paying for the advertising or electioneering
communication, including the federal employer identification number, or other
verifiable identification, if any, of an entity, so that the public can know
who paid for the advertising or communication, without having to locate and
identify any affiliated entities;
(d) The total cost of the advertising or
electioneering communication, or initial cost estimate if the total cost is not
available upon initial distribution or broadcast, how much of that amount has
been paid, as updated, who made the payment, when it was paid, and what method
of payment was used; and
(e)
Date(s) the commercial advertiser rendered service, including the dates, where
applicable, that the advertising or communication was presented to the
public.
(7) In addition
to subsection (6) of this section and pursuant to
RCW
42.17A.345, the materials and books of
account open for public inspection must include the political advertisement or
electioneering communication itself, and a description of the major work
components or tasks, as specified in (a) through (g) of this subsection, that
were required to provide the advertising or communications services.
(a) For printers, reproducers and other
persons who provide commercial duplicating services: Quantity of items, item
description, design, layout, typesetting, photography, printing, silk
screening, binding.
(b) For mailing
services: Quantity of items mailed, binding, stuffing, labeling, list or
directory services, postage or delivery.
(c) For broadcast media: Air time and number
of spot advertisements. If the broadcaster provides additional services such as
copy writing, talent, production, and tape reproduction, some type of record or
notation evidencing the additional service must be available.
(d) For billboard or sign companies: Number
and location of signs, design, printing and art work, erection/removal
costs.
(e) For specialty or novelty
commercial advertisers: Quantity of items provided, silk screening, design,
printing and art work.
(f) For
newspapers and other print media: Amount of advertising space and dates of
publication. If the advertiser provides additional services such as design or
layout, some type of record evidencing such additional services must be
available.
(g) For digital
communication platforms:
(i) A description of
the demographic information;
(ii)
The statistical characteristics of a population (e.g., age, gender, race,
location, etc.), of the audiences targeted and reached, to the extent such
information is collected by the commercial advertiser as part of its regular
course of business;
(iii) The total
number of impressions generated by the advertisement or communication;
and
(iv) Any generative adversarial
network techniques, artificial intelligence, or other digital technology,
provided by the commercial advertiser to produce any "synthetic media," as
defined under
RCW
42.62.020, for the advertisement or
communication.
(8) At the request of the PDC, each
commercial advertiser required to comply with this section must provide to the
PDC copies of the information described above.
Notes
Statutory Authority: RCW 42.17A.110. 12-03-002, § 390-18-050, filed 1/4/12, effective 2/4/12. Statutory Authority: RCW 42.17.370 and 42.17.562. 06-11-132, § 390-18-050, filed 5/23/06, effective 6/23/06. Statutory Authority: RCW 42.17.370(1). 99-12-068, § 390-18-050, filed 5/27/99, effective 6/27/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 42.17.370. 93-04-072, § 390-18-050, filed 1/29/93, effective 3/1/93.
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