Ethics Reports Show Abortion Group Spent Nearly $128K In Final Days of Petition Drive

Abortion, , , ,

Reports filed with the Arkansas Ethics Commission on Monday show the group backing abortion in Arkansas spent more than $100,000 on its petition drive in the final days of its campaign.

The amendment by Arkansans for Limited Government would write abortion into the state constitution. The group submitted some 101,525 signatures to place the measure on the ballot on July 5. However, the Secretary of State disqualified every petition signature, because Arkansans for Limited Government failed to provide documentation required by state law.

Arkansans for Limited Government also submitted documents to the Secretary of State showing the group employed 265 paid petition canvassers over the course of the signature campaign — including more than 70 paid canvassers hired within 48 hours of the July 5 deadline to submit petitions for the abortion measure.

On Monday the group filed its monthly ethics report showing it spent nearly $128,000 during the month of June — including $110,000 spent just days before the July 5 petition deadline. The group reportedly received $31,417.50 in donations during the month of June as well.

All told, Arkansans for Limited Government spent more than $385,000 on its campaign to pass the abortion amendment.

While the abortion measure has been disqualified for failing to comply with state law, legal experts have pointed out the Arkansas Abortion Amendment would prevent the State of Arkansas from restricting abortion during the first five months of pregnancy — which is more extreme than Roe v. Wade — and would allow thousands of elective abortions on healthy women and unborn children every year.

The measure also contains various exceptions that would permit abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy in many cases.

The amendment does not contain any medical licensing or health and safety standards for abortion, and it does not require abortions to be performed by a physician or in a licensed medical facility.

It also nullifies all state laws that conflict with the amendment, jeopardizing basic abortion regulations — like parental-consent and informed-consent requirements that both sides of the aisle have supported in the past.

You Can See A Copy of The Group’s Ethics Report Here.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

READ MORE

FTC Order Would Ban Social Media App From Offering Anonymous Messaging to Kids Under 18

Social Media, ,

Last week the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office announced legal action against social media platform NGL and its founders, citing “a host of law violations related to their anonymous messaging app, including unfairly marketing the service to children and teens.”

Launched in 2021, NGL is a social media platform that encourages users to send messages and ask and answer questions — all anonymously. The FTC says NGL’s anonymity promotes cyberbullying and exposes children to inappropriate content.

In a statement, the FTC and the LA D.A.’s Office said,

“NGL marketed its app to kids and teens despite knowing that it was exposing them to cyberbullying and harassment,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “In light of NGL’s reckless disregard for kids’ safety, the FTC’s order would ban NGL from marketing or offering its app to those under 18. We will keep cracking down on businesses that unlawfully exploit kids for profit.”

“The consequences of these actions can be severe. The anonymity provided by the app can facilitate rampant cyberbullying among teens, causing untold harm to our young people,” Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said. “We cannot tolerate such behavior, nor can we allow companies to profit at the expense of our children’s safety and well-being. Today’s charges send a clear message that deceptive practices and targeting vulnerable populations will not be tolerated.”

The FTC’s case is reminiscent of the Arkansas Attorney General’s lawsuits against TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.

The lawsuits allege social media giant TikTok violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by promoting “intensely sexualized” content — including content that sexualizes children — on its platform, and that TikTok failed to fully disclose that the platform is subject to Chinese law — including “laws that mandate secret cooperation with intelligence activities of the People’s Republic of China.”

The lawsuit against Meta — owner of Facebook and Instagram — alleges the social media platforms violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by relying on algorithms intentionally designed “to exploit human psychology and foster addiction to maximize users’ screen time,” noting that this exploitation is especially true of young users with developing brains.

In each case, the Arkansas Attorney General argues the social media platforms deceptively marketed their apps as being appropriate for children under 18. The FTC is now making a similar argument in its case against NGL.

As we have said time and time again, social media platforms aren’t just websites. These are multimillion dollar businesses owned and operated by investors and other interests.

There is mounting evidence that these platforms put users’ personal information at risk and are actually designed to push objectionable content to users. With that in mind, it’s good to see state and federal regulators taking action to protect children on social media.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

READ MORE