Writing for Digital Media

Political Background:
On March 27, 2002 Bush signed the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act and the FEC began the process of clarifying how the law would work. During their deliberations, the FEC ruled that "public communication" did not include Web advertisements.
The FEC concluded that "unlike media such as television and radio, where the constraints of the medium make access financially prohibitive for the general population, the Internet is by definition a bastion of free political speech, where any individual has access to almost limitless political expression with minimal cost."

The regulations for political communication are complicated and tedious. Ambiguity from Congress on the definition of public communication, does not help to clarify this matter. Congress defines public communication as any "broadcast, cable or satellite communication, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, mass mailing or telephone bank to the general public, or any other form of general public political advertising." This definition fails to specifically mention the Internet.

With this loophole, it was expected and we saw, political candidates moving from traditional broadcast mediums to the Internet to avoid the communication regulations for the 2004 elections.

During the 2004 elections advocacy groups and wealthy individuals could coordinate online advertising without having it count as a contribution, an act expressly prohibited for traditional media: television and newspapers.

However, a ruling in September by US District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly which said the FEC’s exclusion of the Internet from other regulated coordinated communications undermines the law’s purpose has caused the FEC to reexamine their stance.

The Politics as it Applies to Bloggers:
Earlier this March in an interview, Bradley Smith discussed the implications the new regulations would have on bloggers. For Bradley Smith, one of the six commissioners at the FEC, it boils down to a question of contributions. Can a link to a politician’s website be considered a contribution? If yes, then what is the value and what happens if the linker has already contributed the legal maximum?

Another issue at stake is whether or not to give bloggers the press exemption, which currently covers broadcasting stations, newspapers, magazines or other periodical publications. The press exemption does not cover bloggers because the Internet is not clearly defined as a periodical or broadcast medium. Additionally, there is no standard for becoming a blogger.

Earlier this week, the FEC proposed that all bloggers should be given press exemption making them immune from laws that would count their political endorsements as contributions.

The FEC is looking for a way 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."

Most bloggers and politicians are happy with these draft rules, but they realize that they raise more questions than offer answer.

Additionally, bloggers are finding themselves in unique predicament. Growing numbers of bloggers are incorporating to protect themselves from civil suits, which would then prohibit them from political activities, unless they can qualify as legitimate journalists.

What’s Next:
We are at a point where the government is beginning to define the Internet and the way we can legally use it. The public has 60 days to comment on the proposed regulations, and the FEC will accept comments by email (Internet@fed.gov) as well as hold a public meeting on June 28th.

Additional Information
The FEC's proposed regulations also say:

Political spam must be labeled, a relaxation of a current regulation that requires disclaimers when more than 500 bulk messages endorse or attack a political candidate. Now only such e-mail sent to addresses purchased "through a commercial transaction" must sport disclaimers.

Linking to a campaign's Web site will not be counted as an "expenditure" that could trigger campaign finance law unless money changes hands. Also exempt are "distributing banner messages" and "blogging."

Someone simply running their own Web site from their own computer or hosted on a service like Blogger.com does "not make a contribution or expenditure" that must be reported as a campaign contribution.

Forwarding e-mail from a political candidate "would not constitute republication of campaign materials," which could have triggered another complex section of campaign finance law.