What are the laws for political advertising in Puerto Rico?
Under Puerto Rico’s political advertising rules, media companies publishing political advertisements must share who promotes them, who pays for them, and who wants to influence voters. Advertisements failing to share this information are in violation of the Law for the Oversight of Financing of Political Campaigns in Puerto Rico. The law additionally requires media and advertising companies providing services to political candidates or political campaigns to report the costs of the services provided by them for political advertising. Additionally, agencies must report information on who paid for the advertisement.
What happened with bMedia and Bad Bunny?
The New Progressive Party (PNP) filed a complaint against bMedia Group, an advertising agency, and Bad Bunny for political advertising that violated Puerto Rico’s political advertising rules. Bad Bunny financed billboard advertisements against PNP. The advertisements had messages stating “Voting for the PNP is voting for corruption.” bMedia defended itself stating that it published the advertisements under the belief and understanding that Bad Bunny had consulted with the Office of the Electoral Comptroller and that the law did not apply because the advertisements were not funded publicly or by a political group.
How has Bad Bunny responded?
Bad Bunny confirmed that he had funded the billboards with electoral communications against the PNP, and publicly shared that PNP was trying to silence him, contrary to democracy. Additionally, Bad Bunny shared that he was only trying to show his love for Puerto Rico. He has yet to endorse a candidate for the November election, but has publicly spoken out against both political parties. Bad Bunny has limited his political statements to Puerto Rico, and avoided endorsing any US political candidates.
Has the government responded?
The complaint filed by PNP argued that the billboards needed to be immediately removed, and that stricter enforcement of Puerto Rico’s political advertising rules were necessary. While Bad Bunny has not made a statement on the US presidential election, celebrities such as Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish have been outspoken about their opinions. Additionally, campaign regulations as a whole have been in the spotlight due to the use of paid influencer endorsements for campaigns. It is likely that new regulations will be introduced in the near future regarding the use of celebrities, social media, and influencers in campaign advertisements.
