Under orders from a federal court to reconsider its exemption of Internet communications from campaign finance regulations, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) proposed new rules on March 24, seeking public comment on a variety of issues. The proposed rules, which provide more questions than answers, were preceded by an outcry from bloggers, members of Congress and others concerned about possible over-regulation of Internet political activity. ...
The proposed rule was preceded by widespread alarm among bloggers and others after a March 3 C/Net News.Com interview quoted FEC Commissioner Bradley Smith as saying, "I think grassroots Internet activity is in danger." Concern increased after FEC Chairman Scott Thomas gave a speech at the Politics Online conference on March 11 that warned of possible "massive evasions of the prohibitions on party soft money and corporate and union resources in federal elections" if the new regulations are "done sloppily." ...
Among the many difficult issues to be debated is whether bloggers that are paid to post statements that support or attack candidates should disclose the payment.
OMB also provided links to a summary of the proposed rules and the FEC's Draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Internet Communications [PDF File]. I'd definitely recommend reading through the summary of the proposed rules because I think it really explains what these new rules are and what will be affected by them.
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