CA AB868

Enacts the Digital Advertisement Transparency and Accountability Act (DATA Act) requiring committees to submit copies and specified information about digital advertisements to the Fair Political Practices Commission, beginning the first January 1 that is at least 60 days after the commission certifies a system for accepting such reports.

Committees must submit digital advertisement information if spending $1,000 or more during a reporting period, following existing deadlines for semiannual and preelection statements, including details on the committee name, candidate or ballot measure, online platforms used, amount paid, dates displayed, and a copy of the advertisement.

Requires the commission to maintain submitted information for at least 12 years and make it publicly available in a centralized, searchable online format with filtering capabilities by committee name, dates, candidates, ballot measures, platforms, keywords, and content.

Establishes a $10 per day penalty for committees submitting required information after the prescribed deadline, as the exclusive administrative penalty for unintentional violations of the article.

Eliminates existing requirements for online platforms to maintain public advertisement records once the new system is operational, replacing them with a requirement for platforms to transmit specified advertisement information to the commission and retain it for at least four years.