IP: Federal Election Commission and the Internet

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2000 15:36:15 -0500
> To: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
> From: Barry Steinhardt <Barrys () aclu org>
> Subject: Federal Election Commission and the Internet
>
> Dave,
>
>
> The ACLU, CDT, the Free Congress Foundation and 15 other organizations 
> have filed comment with the Federal Election Commission on the subject 
> of  regulation of campaign related speech on the Internet. Among other 
> things, the comments call for the FEC to take a hands off approach to 
> individuals who use the Net to talk about politics. A copy of the comments 
> sent to the FEC, and a full list of all 18
> organizations that are signatories are available at: 
> http://www.aclu.org/congress/l010600a.html
>
> Below is our press release on the comments.
>
> ACLU Urges Government Not To Trample On Internet Political Speech
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact:
> Jennifer Helburn
> Thursday, January 6, 2000
> (202) 675-2312
> WASHINGTON-Saying the government must not gag the new town criers, the
> American Civil Liberties Union joined forces today with the Center for
> Democracy and Technology and the Free Congress Foundation to urge federal
> regulators not to clamp down on political speech on the Internet during the
> upcoming election season.
> "At a time when politicians and talking heads bemoan the political apathy
> that has spread across the country, the Internet holds great potential to
> reengage people in the political process," said Barry Steinhardt, ACLU
> Associate Director. "There is absolutely no reason to clamp down on Internet
> political speech by individuals."
> The organizations sent their comments to the FEC in response to its request
> for ideas on how to apply federal election laws to Internet activity. Though
> the eighteen groups that signed onto the comments represent a wide range of
> viewpoints, they said they are "united in our belief that the Internet
> offers a unique opportunity to improve the quality of the electoral process
> by providing a platform from which individuals can engage in political
> speech outside the control of candidates, political parties, and the
> traditional media gatekeepers."
> The organizations urged the FEC to create a "safe harbor" for Internet
> political speech by individuals and to delay comprehensive rulemaking until
> after the 2000 election cycle to avoid new enforcement actions that could
> potentially chill new experiments in issue advocacy, direct advocacy and
> non-partisan activities on the Internet.
> "The Internet allows anyone, as the Supreme Court said, to become a 'town
> crier with a voice that resonates further than it could from any soapbox,'"
> said Laura W. Murphy, Director of the ACLU's Washington National Office.
> "The Federal Election Commission, which is charged with broadening the
> diversity of groups involved in the election process, must not gag the new
> town criers."
> During the congressional debate over revisions to campaign finance laws, the
> ACLU urged Congress to protect people using their own personal web sites to
> express their opinions about candidates from prosecution.
> The FEC told at least one man, Leo Smith, that he was in violation of
> federal law because he had spent more than $250 in expressing his political
> views in 1996 without disclosing his identity and filing required reports.
> Although Smith had already been operating a web site for his business and it
> cost him nothing but his time to add a section advocating his
> representative's defeat, the FEC said it determined the value of web sites
> by counting, among other factors, the cost of the computer hardware and
> software used to create the site. If the computer cost more than $250, the
> FEC said, its owner would have to meet the filing and disclosure
> requirements of federal law. Using the FEC's logic, if the computer cost
> more than $1,000, its owner would have to register as a political action
> committee.
> ###
>
>
>
> Barry Steinhardt  (Barrys () aclu org)
> Associate Director
> American Civil Liberties Union
> 125 Broad Street, NYC 10004
> 212 549-2508 (v)
> 212 549 2656 (f)
> www.aclu.org