The Federal Election Commission started to extend campaign finance rules to the Internet. According to CNET News.com, the proposed changes would have made any website over 500 readers post government-mandated notices or risk violating campaign finance laws. The original reforms would have imposed Federal rules from decades ago on websites. But at the last minute, the proposals changed.
The explanation for the dramatic changes during the last two weeks, according to one FEC official familiar with the events, is the unusual public outcry that followed a public alarm that Commissioner Bradley Smith sounded about a pending government crackdown on bloggers. After Smith’s warning, an army of bloggers mobilized to oppose intrusive regulations and prominent members of Congress warned the commission not to be overly aggressive.
The regulatory approach was necessary because of “the increased use of the Internet by federal candidates, political committees, and others to communicate with the general public to influence federal elections,” according to the March 10 draft. “If the March 10 draft had gone into effect, it would have been bloggers with pitchforks and torches storming the Federal Election Commission at 999 E Street,” said Mike Krempasky, a contributor to conservative Web site RedState.org and co-creator of an online petition on behalf of bloggers