In a move hailed as freeing the Internet from regulation, the Federal Election Commission ruled Nov. 17 that a company operating "unabashedly progressive" blogs is eligible for the "press exemption" from campaign finance limits.

The FEC commissioners voted unanimously in an open meeting to approve an advisory opinion (AO 2005-16) requested by Fired Up! LLC, a company founded by prominent Democrats that says its blogs will explicitly support and seek contributions for federal candidates. The FEC said Fired Up! should be considered a "press entity" because its "core" activities involved providing news and commentary.

The ruling still leaves another major issue for the FEC--whether to apply campaign finance limits to financing of paid political advertising on the Internet. The FEC has a pending proposed rule that would regulate in this area. Meanwhile, Congress is considering legislation that would prevent the FEC from defining any online messages about federal candidates as "public communications" subject to regulation.

The decision to provide bloggers with the same press exemption for FEC rules long enjoyed by members of the traditional media represented a "powerful statement," according to Michael Toner, the FEC's Republican vice chair. Toner said the action recognized that it was the goal of the Federal Election Campaign Act "to protect the media in all its forms." He noted that the law has long guaranteed the right of any media outlet to discuss political campaigns and even endorse candidates, so long as it is not controlled by a candidate or political party.

Read the draft advisory opinion

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 01:40:45 PM

Thursday, November 03, 2005