Campaign Finance: Regulating Political Communications on the Internet (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised Jan. 26, 2009 |
| Report Number |
RS22272 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
L. Paige Whitaker, Legislative Attorney; R. Sam Garrett, Analyst in American National Government |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) amended the FederalElection Campaign Act (FECA) to include a new term, "federal election activity," inorder to expand the scope of federal campaign finance regulation. The definition of"federal election activity" includes a "public communication," i.e., a broadcast, cable,satellite, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, mass mailing, or telephonebank communication made to the general public, "or any other form of general publicpolitical advertising." In October 2002, the Federal Election Commission (FEC)promulgated regulations exempting from the definition of "public communication" thosecommunications that are made over the Internet. In response to the FEC's final rules,the two primary House sponsors of BCRA filed suit in U.S. district court against theFEC seeking to invalidate the regulations as opening a new avenue for circumventionof federal campaign finance law. In September 2004, in Shays v. FEC, the U.S. DistrictCourt for the District of Columbia overturned some of the FEC's new regulations. Inresponse to the district court's decision, in April 2005, the FEC published proposed newrules in order to conform to the Shays ruling. The proposed regulations reflect anattempt by the FEC to leave web logs, or "blogs," created and wholly maintained byindividuals, free of regulations under FECA, while extending limited regulation only touses of the Internet involving substantial monetary transactions. On November 2, theHouse plans to vote on a bill, H.R. 1606 (Hensarling), to exempt Internetcommunications from the FECA definition of "public communication."
