Congress roasted Facebook on TV, but won’t hear any bills to regulate it

On October 19th of last year, a just-barely bipartisan group of senators held a press conference to announce a new piece of legislation. The Honest Ads Act, as the bill is called, would require Facebook, Google, and other tech platforms to retain copies of the political ads they host and make them available for public inspection. Platforms would have to release information about who bought the ads, how much they cost, and to whom the ads were targeted. Anyone who spent more than $500 on political ads would be subject to public scrutiny.

“Our democracy is at risk,” a solemn Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) told reporters at the time. “Russia attacked our elections, and they and other foreign powers and interests will continue to divide our...

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