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VOL. 42 | NO. 11 | Friday, March 16, 2018
Tennessee Senate OKs social media political disclosure bill
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Senate has passed a bill that would spell out requirements to disclose who paid for sponsored political content on social media platforms.
The Republican-led Senate approved the legislation in a 17-8 vote Monday. It heads to the House.
The bill by Senate Democratic Caucus Chairman Jeff Yarbro would require disclosure on the social media item itself or a link to another site with disclosure information.
Yarbro says Tennessee law currently implicitly requires disclosure for social media, but the bill would make it explicit.
Yarbro has pointed to a federal indictment charging 13 Russians with running a social media trolling campaign aimed in part at helping Republican Donald Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016. The indictment mentions a Twitter account made to resemble the Tennessee Republican Party's handle.