LOS ANGELES — A complaint filed Thursday with the California Fair Political Practices Commission alleges that Tom Steyer’s gubernatorial campaign violated California campaign transparency laws by failing to properly disclose paid political influencer content on social media platforms.
The complaint was filed by attorney Nick Rowley on behalf of social media creator Margaret “Maggie” Reed alongside the California Fair Political Practices Commission.
The complaint alleges that Steyer’s gubernatorial campaign “violated California campaign transparency laws governing paid political influencer content.”
Social media creator Margaret “Maggie” Reed states that Steyer’s campaign “engaged her to create and publish social media content concerning Tom Steyer on TikTok, Instagram, and X without informing her that California law required the posts to disclose that they were paid political communications.”
Reed has been one of many content creators solicited and paid for political influencer content by Steyer’s campaign.
Nick Rowley, a nationally acclaimed trial attorney and co-founder of Trial Lawyers for Justice, highlighted that California’s transparency laws state, “You cannot pay influencers, fail to inform them of disclosure obligations, require silence about the payment, and then accuse the very creator you failed to inform of wrongdoing.”
According to CalMatters, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law three years ago in order “to bring transparency to the increasingly intertwined world of politics and content creators.”
The law is intended to ensure voters are informed about which political content is paid for, further protecting voters from hidden political advertising.
CalMatters states that regulators have opened an investigation into Steyer’s paid political influencer content, making it “one of the first tests of the law.”
Further, the outlet emphasized that the law was “intentionally designed with no real penalties,” and regulators responsible for enforcing it may take a very long time to resolve any investigation.
The complaint includes a written contract from the Steyer campaign showing a $5,000 fee for the engagement. However, on a Form 460, the campaign billed the $5,000 fee as “Palette Media” for “Digital Advertising” expenses.
According to the complaint, Steyer’s campaign misreported the payment by coding it as “TEL” rather than “WEB” and failed to disclose details required by FPPC Regulation 18421.5, such as the creator account and the platforms where the paid content was published.
Furthermore, the complaint claims that “the campaign’s contract imposed confidentiality obligations” that kept the agreement’s details private, including the payment, but did not inform Reed that legally required disclosures mandated the content be labeled as paid political advertising.
As stated in the filing, Reed added a disclosure stating the content was paid for by Tom Steyer after becoming aware of disclosure rules. She ultimately removed the content entirely because of the circumstances.
The complaint also points to Steyer’s campaign spending “more than $123,000 on influencer activity during the 2026 gubernatorial race.”
Additionally, the complaint emphasizes the campaign’s use of “over $130 million of his own money on the campaign,” which has made it one of the “most expensive gubernatorial primary campaigns in California history.”
CalMatters highlighted that Reed’s complaint “reveals a major loophole in the disclosure law in a world of blurred lines between campaign roles.”
Overall, the complaint reflects the increasing use of influencers to reach voters through digital content and underscores growing concerns surrounding political communications and transparency requirements in California.
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