This, the city says, was inadequate in the eyes of the law. Seattle 's election committee has said that Facebook was in violation of a 1977 law requiring public records to be kept about who pays for political ads , according to local paper The Stranger and others . The legislation says publishers of advertisements must be transparent about the " exact nature and extent of the public services rendered " . Facebook said it supplied the required data , but Wayne Barrett , executive director of the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission , said the two - page PDF " does n’t come close to meeting their public obligation " .
Seattle 's election committee has said that Facebook was in violation of a 1977 law requiring public records to be kept about who pays for political ads , according to local paper The Stranger and others . The legislation says publishers of advertisements must be transparent about the " exact nature and extent of the public services rendered " . Facebook said it supplied the required data , but Wayne Barrett , executive director of the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission , said the two - page PDF " does n’t come close to meeting their public obligation " .