Political Advertising Policy

Last Updated: December 19, 2023

OpenX is committed to fostering a safe, ethical, and efficient online advertising experience for consumers, publishers, and advertisers alike. Among other things, this means we are committed to complying with all laws and industry standards related to political advertising, as detailed in our Ad Exchange Supply Policy and Ad Exchange Demand Policy. 

This Political Advertising Policy sets forth additional terms applicable to any advertisement for a political candidate, ballot measure, or other election issue running through the OpenX Ad Exchange (“Political Advertisements”) and the entities distributing them (“Political Advertisers”). 

Compliance Requirements

OpenX requires all Political Advertisements and Political Advertisers to comply with applicable federal, state, local, and self-regulatory requirements, laws, regulations, and rules governing the content, placement, or permitted use of Political Advertisements, including without limitation the DAA Self-Regulatory Principles for Political Advertising. In particular, OpenX requires all Political Advertisements and Political Advertisers to:

• Comply with all applicable disclosure requirements, including by ensuring that any Political Advertisements are readily recognizable as such and include:
  • A “Paid for by” disclosure followed by the name of the entity paying for dissemination of the Political Advertisements, which disclosure must be visible at all times and be of a sufficient size to be legible to an average viewer; and
  • A clear notice or disclosure indicating whether a candidate authorized or did not authorize the ad (if the ad is related to a candidate); and
  • A readily accessible link that can take the viewer to a resource including the name and contact information of the political advertiser.
• Maintain, and make available upon request, all required records related to Political Advertisements, including but not limited to: 
  • The name, contact information, and required verification (such as a federal or state election commission ID or other evidence of registration with applicable governmental entities) of the entity paying for dissemination of the Political Advertisements, federal or state election commission identification;
  • The political candidate, ballot measure, or other election issue to which that the Political Advertisement relates, as well as the type of election (e.g., federal or state);
  • The advertising campaign criteria (e.g., creatives, flight dates, spend, impressions, targeting criteria).
• Appropriately identify all Political Advertisements as such via industry standard tags and signals.
• Make Political Advertisements available for pre-flight review upon request.

Content Requirements

OpenX is a politically neutral platform. We support free and fair elections and recognize that the democratic process often requires heated debate and rhetoric. In order to support the integrity of our services, however, we do not tolerate the following content in Political Advertisements:

• Hateful or inflammatory statements, images, or messages; 
• Depictions of violence or violent imagery, or rhetoric that could be interpreted as inciting, threatening, promoting, glorifying, or condoning violence;
• Depictions of weapons being fired or being pointed at any person(s) or animal(s);
• Claims not based on verifiable facts, misrepresentations of fact, or misleading messages, including but not limited to fake images, videos, or audio clips generated using artificial intelligence or similar technologies; 
• Content that questions the legitimacy of any democratic election or democratic processes;
• Declarations of premature victory when election results remain contested;
• Any other content that may violate our Ad Exchange Demand Policy.

Targeting Requirements

OpenX requires all Political Advertisements and Political Advertisers to comply with applicable federal, state, local, and self-regulatory requirements, laws, regulations, and rules governing the targeting of Political Advertisements. OpenX further restricts Political Advertisers from targeting Political Advertisements using audience data they know or intend to be derived from or related to sensitive data, as such term or substantially similar terms are defined in applicable privacy laws, including but not limited to data that relates to or derives from any individual or group of individuals’ known or inferred race, color, national origin, immigration status, religion, sexual orientation, disability status, or genetic information.

Reservations

Publishers displaying Political Advertisements on their properties may have their own policies that differ from this Political Advertising Policy. Political Advertisers acknowledge that publishers have discretion regarding what Political Advertisements to run on their properties.

OpenX reserves the right to audit Political Advertisers and Political Advertisements for purposes of confirming compliance with this Political Advertising Policy, and suspend or terminate our relationship with any Political Advertisers, and remove any Political Advertisements, that violate this Political Advertising Policy. OpenX further reserves the right to update this Political Advertising Policy at any time by posting notice of such changes on our website or by otherwise providing notice. If you have any questions about this Political Advertising Policy, or any other questions about any OpenX service, please contact your Account Manager.