TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: New FEC Rules Regulate Paid Web Ads

New FEC Rules Regulate Paid Web Ads

Associated Press News Wire (ap@telecom-digest.org)
Sun, 26 Mar 2006 15:56:05 -0600

The Federal Election Commission proposed new rules Friday that would
leave almost all Internet political activity unregulated. The proposal
would, however, require paid advertisements for federal candidates on
the Internet to be paid for with money regulated by federal campaign
law.

There has been an explosion of political activity on the Internet and
political bloggers who offer diverse views say they should be free of
government regulation.

In a summary of the proposal, the FEC said the rules "are intended to
ensure that political committees properly finance and disclose their
Internet communications, without impeding individual citizens from
using the Internet to speak freely regarding candidates and
elections."

The revised definition includes paid Internet advertising placed on
another person's web site, but does not encompass any other form of
Internet communications.

A recent federal court decision on campaign finance law held that the
previous definition of "public communication" impermissibly excluded
all Internet communications.

The federal court instructed the six-member FEC to draw up regulations
that would extend the nation's campaign finance and spending limits to
the Web.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press.

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