A new law requiring online platforms to publish a digital registry of all political ads posted during the coming federal election campaign will apply only to paid advertisements.
And that leaves lots of room for parties and advocacy groups to find other innovative ways to get their messages out to voters, without regulation.
As guidelines issued by Elections Canada on Wednesday point out, the law does not apply to texts, emails or other private messages.
Nor does it apply to user-generated content posted for free on social media or content published on a group's own website, including videos posted on those websites or free websites like YouTube.
Had those rules applied during last year's Ontario election, they would have done little to hinder third parties like Ontario Proud, a conservative advocacy group that boasts it had ``immense influence'' in electing Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives.
The group -- which has started a spin-off Canada Proud organization in hopes of taking down Justin Trudeau's Liberals in the coming federal campaign -- says its Facebook page was more popular than any provincial political party or major media outlet, reaching 4 to 15 million users each week during the Ontario campaign.