Disclaimers and Digital Ad Law

Course 46 explains the "paid for by" line for print, signs, mail and broadcast and gives the digital summary in Literature, Signs and Ads. This lesson picks up where that one stops: each digital format, the federal internet rule clause by clause, the influencer problem, and the reporting entries. Lesson 5 covers what the platforms themselves require.

Idaho's rule, word by word

Idaho Code 67-6614A was added in 1977 and amended in 1992 and 2016; its history line shows no change in the 2024, 2025 or 2026 sessions. Each piece of its single sentence decides a digital case.

Piece of the statute	What it means online
"Whenever any person makes an expenditure"	Money has to be spent. A volunteer's free post on a personal page involves no expenditure. A campaign paying for a boost, an ad, a text platform, an email service or a website has made one.
"for the purpose of financing communications expressly advocating"	The message must urge a vote. 67-6602(9) gives examples: "vote for," "elect," "support," "cast your ballot for," "vote against," "defeat," "reject," and the name of the candidate or measure.
"the election, approval or defeat of a candidate, measure or person standing for election to the position of precinct committeeman"	Candidates for any office, any ballot measure, and precinct committee races, which are otherwise outside much of the Sunshine Law.
"through any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, direct mailing"	The 1977 list. Online media are not named.
"or any other type of general public political advertising"	The catch-all. Paid ads on Meta, Google, X, Snapchat, streaming services and news websites are general public political advertising.
"the person responsible for such communication shall be clearly indicated on such communication"	On the communication itself, not on a linked page. No set words, size or placement.

The Secretary of State's Disclosure Manual fills in two points. It tells treasurers to print a line such as "Paid for by Candidate X for Senate" on all communications, and it says buttons, bumper stickers, pins, pens and similar small items "upon which a disclaimer cannot be conveniently printed" are not regulated by 67-6614A. That small-items note is the manual's reading; the statute itself has no exception. Nothing in the manual extends it to small digital ads, and a 150-character ad has room for "Paid for by Friends of Ana Ruiz."

Penalties are in 67-6625: a civil fine of up to $250 for an individual and up to $2,500 for any other person, proved by a preponderance of the evidence; a knowing and willful violation is a misdemeanor with up to six months in jail. The attorney general or county prosecuting attorney may prosecute, within two years of the violation.

How the rule reaches each format

• Paid social ads and boosted posts. Covered when they expressly advocate. The platform's own "Paid for by" label often satisfies "clearly indicated," because it appears on the ad and names the payer, provided the disclaimer name is the real committee name.
• Display and banner ads on news sites. Covered. There is no platform label, so the line goes in the image itself.
• Video ads, including streaming. Covered. Put the line on screen long enough to read; the federal 4-second rule is a sensible floor for state races too.
• Mass texts and emails. A paid texting or email platform is an expenditure, and a message to thousands of voters urging a vote is general public political advertising in any ordinary reading. The 2026 primary showed the risk: among the more than 40 complaints the Secretary of State's office investigated before the May 19 primary, the Idaho Capital Sun reported, were text messages opposing a sitting state representative that did not say who paid for them, and emails opposing a county commission candidate that did not identify the sender. The office could not determine who sent the texts.
• Campaign websites. A site paid for with campaign money that asks for votes is safest with the line in the footer of every page. Lesson 3 covers what else the site should show.
• Organic posts on the campaign's own page. The text is unsettled. The post itself costs nothing, but the page is run with campaign resources. Most Idaho campaigns put "Paid for by" in the page's "about" section and on graphics, which costs nothing and ends the argument.

The same report described a billboard and a candidate's sign that lacked a disclosure; both were fixed by adding one, and no fines were reported. That is the usual Idaho pattern: a complaint, a call or letter from the elections division, a correction. A digital ad is easier to fix than a billboard, and harder to recall once screenshots circulate.

Electioneering communications online

Idaho has a second, separate rule for ads that name a candidate without asking for a vote. Under 67-6602(6), an electioneering communication is one that is broadcast, printed, mailed, delivered, phoned "or otherwise distributed" that unambiguously refers to a candidate, goes out within 30 days before a primary or 60 days before a general election, and reaches voters for that office. "Otherwise distributed" brings in online ads. Exceptions include news stories and editorials by outlets not owned by a candidate or party, communications in the regular course of business, messages from a membership group only to its members, and anything that is already an expenditure or independent expenditure.

Reporting is in 67-6628. Anyone who spends more than $100 on electioneering communications files a statement on the schedule in 67-6611(2), not less than 7 days before and 30 days after each election. Anyone who incurs $1,000 or more files within 48 hours of incurring the cost. The statement lists the amount spent and the names and addresses of anyone who gave $50 or more to the spender.

The text of 67-6614A covers only express advocacy, so an electioneering ad that never says "vote" is not, on the statute's words, required to carry the attribution line. Every platform in lesson 5 requires a disclaimer anyway, and the Secretary of State can match the 48-hour statement to the ad. In practice, label it.

An outside group whose ad does expressly advocate is making an independent expenditure under 67-6611: a statement once spending exceeds $100 for or against one candidate or measure, and a 48-hour statement for $1,000 or more spent after the 16th day before an election. Course 46 lesson 5 has the details on independent expenditures and electioneering.

Federal races: 11 CFR 110.11 and the 2023 internet rule

For Idaho's congressional and U.S. Senate races, and for any committee registered with the FEC, the rule is 11 CFR 110.11. The FEC rewrote its internet provisions in a final rule published December 19, 2022 and effective March 1, 2023.

Who must use a disclaimer

Under 110.11(a): every public communication by a political committee; emails of more than 500 substantially similar messages sent by a political committee; every public website and internet application of a political committee; any public communication by anyone that expressly advocates for or against a clearly identified federal candidate or solicits contributions; and every electioneering communication.

What counts as public online

11 CFR 100.26 excludes internet communications from "general public political advertising" except those "placed or promoted for a fee on another person's website, digital device, application, or advertising platform." Promoted for a fee means a payment to the website, device, app or ad platform to increase the communication's circulation or prominence there. The FEC's explanation says the definition reaches social media, streaming platforms, mobile apps and wearable devices. Free posts on your own account are not public communications; individuals' uncompensated internet activity, including blogging and sharing, is exempt from the definitions of contribution and expenditure under 11 CFR 100.94 and 100.155.

What the disclaimer says

• Paid for and authorized by the candidate's committee: state that the committee paid for it.
• Authorized by the candidate but paid for by someone else: state who paid and that the candidate authorized it.
• Not authorized: give the payer's full name, a permanent street address, phone number or web address, and state that it is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

How it must look online

Under 110.11(c)(5), an internet public communication with text or graphics must show the disclaimer so it "can be viewed without taking any action." It must be readable (letters at least as large as the majority of other text satisfy this), with reasonable contrast (black on white, or contrast no less than that of the largest text). In video it must be visible at least 4 seconds without any action by the viewer. Audio-only ads must speak it. The duty falls on whoever pays to place the ad, even if someone else made it.

Adapted disclaimers

The new rule's biggest change for small ads is 110.11(g). When a full disclaimer "cannot be provided or would occupy more than 25 percent of the communication" because of space limits built into the ad product, the advertiser may use an adapted disclaimer: a clear statement that the ad is paid for, naming the payer by full name or a commonly understood abbreviation, plus an indicator (a word, icon or symbol telling the viewer more is available) and a mechanism (hover text, a pop-up, scrolling text, a rotating panel or a link to a landing page) that shows the full disclaimer after no more than one action.

The small-items exception in 110.11(f), for bumper stickers, pins, buttons and pens, still exists, but the internet rule built the adapted disclaimer for space problems online, so the small-items exception is a poor argument for a digital ad.

Format	Idaho state or local race	Federal race (11 CFR 110.11)	Typical platform requirement
Boosted post or social ad urging a vote	Person responsible clearly indicated (67-6614A)	Full disclaimer visible without action, or adapted if over 25 percent	Meta, Snapchat, X: "Paid for by" label; TikTok: not allowed
Ad naming a candidate, no vote language, inside 30/60 days	67-6628 report; attribution not required by text but wise	Electioneering rules if broadcast; disclaimer if placed for a fee and solicits or advocates	Same platform labels
Video ad (social or streaming)	Clearly indicated on screen	On screen at least 4 seconds; candidate approval statement for broadcast and cable	Seller's review; often on-screen text
Mass email	Clearly indicated (paid platform, general public)	Required for a political committee's email over 500 recipients	Email law and providers' rules (lesson 2)
Mass text	Clearly indicated; 2026 complaints show enforcement interest	Required if placed for a fee and covered	Carrier rules, TCPA (lesson 7)
Campaign website	Footer line advised	Required on political committee websites	None
Free post on your own page	No expenditure, but label anyway	Not a public communication	None
Paid influencer post	Unsettled; label it	Unsettled if payment goes only to the creator	Meta: paid partnership tool; TikTok: banned

Paid influencers and paid posters

A campaign pays a well-known local fishing guide $300 to post a video saying she is voting for a candidate. Four bodies of rules could apply, and none was written for exactly this.

The FTC Endorsement Guides

The FTC revised its Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, 16 CFR Part 255, in 2023. Section 255.5 says a material connection between endorser and seller, such as payment or free products, must be disclosed "clearly and conspicuously" when the audience would not expect it, and 255.0(f) says on social media the disclosure should be "unavoidable." But section 255.0 says the Guides interpret section 5 of the FTC Act as applied to endorsements in advertising, and it defines "product" as any product, service, brand, company or industry. A vote for a candidate is not a product sold in commerce, and this lesson found no FTC action applying the Guides to campaign speech. The Guides are the best model for how to disclose; they are not the rule that requires it for an election.

The FEC

During the 2022 rulemaking, some commenters asked the FEC to define "promoted for a fee" to capture individuals paid to share content when no payment goes to a platform. The final rule defines promoted for a fee as a payment made "to a website, digital device, application, or advertising platform." A payment to a creator alone, posted free on the creator's own account, is not clearly covered by that text, and this lesson found no FEC rule on paid influencers as of October 2026. The payment is still an expenditure a federal committee must report, and if the campaign also pays the platform to boost the post, the disclaimer rules apply in full.

The platforms

TikTok's policy bars paid political content, and says the ban covers creators paid to make branded political content, including undisclosed ads. On Facebook and Instagram, Meta's February 2020 change, reported by Reuters, let US political candidates and groups pay creators for posts only if the campaign was authorized as a political advertiser and the creator used the branded content tool, which labels the post as a paid partnership. Those posts do not go into the Ad Library unless they are boosted. Check Meta's current branded content policy before signing anyone.

Idaho

Idaho has no statute on paid influencers in campaigns, and this lesson found no Secretary of State guidance on them as of October 2026. Two parts of the Sunshine Law still reach the arrangement:

• Attribution. A post that urges a vote and is paid for by a campaign is a communication financed by an expenditure. Whether a creator's own feed is "general public political advertising" under 67-6614A has not been tested, but a "Paid for by" line or a clear "paid by the Ruiz campaign" in the caption answers the question before anyone asks it.
• Volunteers versus paid help. 67-6602(3) excludes from "contribution" personal services "of the sort commonly performed by volunteer campaign workers." A supporter who posts for free on their own account has given nothing reportable. A professional videographer who makes a finished ad for free has likely given an in-kind contribution at fair market value, as course 46 lesson 2 explains.

Reporting the payments

Under 67-6607(1)(b), a candidate or committee lists the name and address of every person paid $25 or more, with the amount, date and purpose, and keeps an invoice, receipt or canceled check for a year after the report is filed. A creator is a payee like a printer. Write the purpose plainly: "paid social media video," "paid Instagram post." If a supporter pays the creator directly with the campaign's knowledge, the campaign reports an in-kind contribution from the supporter and an expenditure of the same amount, and the value counts against the supporter's limit. If an outside group pays without coordinating, it is the group's independent expenditure under 67-6611.