You're right re: the database helping people see the political ads. I'm jaded by the barrage of the reaction to political ads, particularly the long-time discredited "Russia, Russia, Russia" hoax, which seems far more pernicious than the political ads themselves.

The danger is that this tool becomes a weapon of partisan warfare.

What is going to be done with the database? Will we be getting disclaimers, moderation, & "truth ministry" propaganda messages built into the browser itself? People can make their own decisions without a voice of "authority" labeling & moderating all content. Otherwise, if the political minority is labeled as liars by the majority, the minority effectively becomes further suppressed. Same with individuals not going with the prevailing social norms.

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I also see potential in the database. Particularly if news or ads in general could be captured. If this tool could act like a digital archive, recording edits to articles & such, people can track how a certain message evolves over time. The more I think about this, the more potential I can see in this tool working for good & bad purposes, re: our basic freedoms of speech, thought, assembly, etc. It will be interesting to see how this tech develops & is utilized.