Maryland law regulating electronic political ads violates First Amendment

Exposing foreign governments’ meddling in U.S. politics is a worthy goal. Infringing on First Amendment freedoms is no way to go about it.

A federal appeals court, confirming a lower-court ruling, has just struck down as unconstitutional key provisions of a Maryland law called the Online Electioneering Transparency and Accountability Act, passed by Annapolis lawmakers last year following alarms over the Kremlin’s use of social media to influence U.S. public political discussion.

Read more @ https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-ed/bs-ed-op-1212-electronic-political-ads-20191211-x3hv7uro3zgvvigfoev5jvbdwq-story.html

By Walter Olson | Baltimore Sun | Dec 11, 2019 | 1:02 PM