ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York’s Democrat-controlled state Assembly has passed legislation that would require social medial companies to disclose who paid for online political campaign advertising.
The measure was approved Wednesday soon after Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a fellow Democrat, announced that the chamber planned to approve the bill. Its provisions include a requirement that internet platforms such as Facebook include the identity of the groups paying for the political content.
The effort emerged from Cuomo’s state budget proposal unveiled last month.
Cuomo says New York needs to take steps to prevent outside interference with the state’s election process in the wake of federal allegations that Russia plotted to interfere in the 2016 general election and targeted elections systems in 21 states.
Similar legislation hasn’t been taken up in the Republican-led Senate.
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