[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 423 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 423

    To direct the Federal Trade Commission to impose civil monetary 
penalties against persons disseminating false political advertisements.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 9, 1997

 Mrs. Myrick (for herself, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. English of Pennsylvania, 
  Mr. Gilman, Mr. Graham, Mr. Poshard, and Mr. Klink) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To direct the Federal Trade Commission to impose civil monetary 
penalties against persons disseminating false political advertisements.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Truth in Political Advertising 
Act''.

SEC. 2. IMPOSITION OF PENALTIES FOR DISSEMINATION OF FALSE POLITICAL 
              ADVERTISEMENTS.

    (a) Prohibition Against Dissemination.--No person may disseminate 
or cause to be disseminated any false political advertisement by United 
States mails or by any means in or having an effect upon commerce.
    (b) Penalty.--
            (1) In general.--If the Federal Trade Commission finds that 
        a person has knowingly and willfully violated subsection (a), 
        the Commission shall (after notice and opportunity for a 
        hearing) impose a civil monetary penalty on the person in an 
        amount not to exceed $10,000 for each such violation.
            (2) Clarification of media liability.--No publisher, radio-
        broadcast licensee, or agency or medium for the dissemination 
        of advertising, shall be liable under this section by reason of 
        the dissemination by the publisher, licensee, or agency or 
        medium of any false political advertisement, unless the 
        publisher, licensee, agency or medium has refused, on the 
        request of the Federal Trade Commission, to furnish the 
        Commission the name and post-office address of the person who 
        caused the publisher, licensee, agency, or medium to 
        disseminate such advertisement. No advertising agency shall be 
        liable under this section by reason of the causing by it of the 
        dissemination of any false political advertisement, unless it 
        has refused, on the request of the Commission, to furnish the 
        Commission the name and post-office address of the person who 
        caused it to cause the dissemination of such advertisement.
    (c) False Political Advertisement Defined.--In this section, the 
term ``false political advertisement'' means an advertisement 
disseminated for the purpose of influencing an election for Federal 
office which is misleading in a material respect. In determining 
whether any advertisement is misleading, there shall be taken into 
account (among other things) not only representations made or suggested 
by statement, word, design, device, sound, or any combination thereof, 
but also the extent to which the advertisement fails to reveal facts 
material in the light of such representations.
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