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Friday, March 04, 2005

Blogging and Campaign finance reform

- As Talon News undergoes a review of operations in light of the recent controversy surrounding the case of James Guckert/Jeff Gannon it appears that political activity on the internet and political blogging are posing serious dilemmas for the Federal Election Commission as it seeks a way to define whether a blog post or a hyperlink on a blog to a candidate's website or indeed, their blog, amounts to a campaign contribution, and what the monetary value of such a contribution should be. How exciting!

- Declan McCullagh, "The coming crackdown on blogging" (interview with Bradley Smith one of the six commissioners at the Federal Election Commission which is beginning the process of extending a 2002 campaign finance law to the Internet), CNet/News.com, Mar. 3).
- "Bradley Smith says that the freewheeling days of political blogging and online punditry are over. In just a few months, he warns, bloggers and news organizations could risk the wrath of the federal government if they improperly link to a campaign's Web site. Even forwarding a political candidate's press release to a mailing list, depending on the details, could be punished by fines."
- Smith: "I don't think the Democratic commissioners are sitting around saying that the Internet is working to the advantage of the Republicans."
- Smith: "The judge's decision is in no way limited to ads. She says that any coordinated activity over the Internet would need to be regulated, as a minimum. The problem with coordinated activity over the Internet is that it will strike, as a minimum, Internet reporting services.
They're exempt from regulation only because of the press exemption. But people have been arguing that the Internet doesn't fit under the press exemption. It becomes a really complex issue that would strike deep into the heart of the Internet and the bloggers who are writing out there today."

(CNET Editor's note: federal law limits the press exemption to a "broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine or other periodical publication.")
- (via Jon; via Overlawyered.com)
- McCain-Feingold

Posted by Nick @ 10:50 GMT

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