APOC will require a paid-for-by line on every social media ad starting in 2027

The Alaska Public Offices Commission will require every social media ad in Alaska campaigns to carry its own paid-for-by identifier starting with the 2027 elections. The change ends the practice of candidates and campaign groups posting one paid-for-by disclaimer on their homepage to cover an account's entire run of posts. The commission said the order supersedes previous interpretations of the law.

The commission made the change in a Sept. 8 decision, overruling a 2018 ruling, Rivas v. Vasquez, that let one disclaimer on a social media homepage satisfy the requirement to identify all communications.

The ruling came in complaints filed by Alaskans for Better Elections against Repeal Now and two of its donors. Repeal Now supports Ballot Measure 2, which would repeal ranked-choice voting and the open top-four primary in November. Alaskans for Better Elections opposes it and registered to "encourage Alaskans to uphold election reforms that give voters more choice and power."

Alaskans for Better Elections alleged two videos on Repeal Now's YouTube channel lacked a paid-for-by disclaimer. Repeal Now said it followed commission precedent: a "more" link at the top of its channel homepage opened its disclaimer. It said volunteers made the videos on their phones, so none was needed.

The commission called that reliance reasonable and found no violation, saying it would be unfair to hold Repeal Now to a later standard. But the commission's final order says a homepage link "will not always provide the user with a readily available means" to identify who is responsible for an ad. It warned that "it is hard to imagine a campaign ad with zero cost to the campaign."

Commissioner Richard Stillie joined the 5-0 result but dissented in part, preferring the old precedent.

The new rule does not reach the 2026 races now under way. It applies to social media postings starting with the next election cycle, for all 2027 elections.

State law requires campaign communications to say "paid for by," followed by the name and address of the person paying. Groups making independent expenditures in candidate races must also state that the material was not authorized, paid for or approved by the candidate.

In February, the Alaska Supreme Court upheld the state's disclaimer rules in a dispute over Alaska Policy Forum's 2020 materials opposing ranked-choice voting, including a video. The court held that staff time counts as a cost, and that groups must include a disclaimer no matter how little an ad costs. Alaska Policy Forum has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the ruling.

The order can be appealed to superior court within 30 days.