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FEC Rules May Apply to Bloggers
I was just interviewed by Laura Jones at KCPW on the recent news that the FEC may apply campaign finance laws to bloggers. If you don’t take money from a campaign or a PAC, the rules wouldn’t apply and so, I think it makes it a pretty narrow application. I actually think its good for blogging for two reasons:
- This is one more mark that the Internet has come of age in campaigns. After Dean showed that the Internet was a viable medium for raising money and connecting with people, it’s inevitable that FEC rules would be applied.
- This will weed out some of the pseudoblogs that are really fronts for campaigns or PACs by forcing them into the open.
Posted by windley on June 1, 2005 2:27 PM
Comment from Jeff Medcalf at June 2, 2005 11:57 AM
But what role should the government have in regulating political speech? The first amendment indicates the government should have no such role, which to me says that no only is this rule - however narrowly tailored - unconstitutional (it is not content-neutral, but specifically targets political speech), but that the law underlying it (BCRA) is also unconstitutional, and for the same reason.
A good thing? No, not for anyone who wants the freedom to speak on political matters.
BTW, the TypeKey login doesn't appear to work.
Comment from Phil Windley at June 2, 2005 12:05 PM
I'm not making an argument that campaign finance laws are constitutional or not. That's a larger issue. I think, however, that if we have them, then they have to apply to the Internet as they do elsewhere.