CDT Launches Net Democracy Guide for Political Speakers

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: John Morris <jmorris () cdt org>
Date: September 13, 2006 1:05:20 AM JST
To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: CDT Launches Net Democracy Guide for Political Speakers

Dave,

Your IP readers might be interested in a new website that CDT has  
rolled out today --  http://www.NetDemocracyGuide.org -- focused on  
the (U.S.) campaign finance obligations that confront individuals  
expressing their political views over the Internet.  You may recall  
that there was a flurry of concern in 2005 and into Spring of 2006  
about the possibility that the Federal Election Commission might  
impose burdensome rules on bloggers and other online poltiical  
activists.  CDT and many others fought those possible rules, and in  
the end the FEC issued rules that were quite protective of  
individuals' speech online.

But the problem with the FEC's rules is that the protections for  
individuals are buried in the middle of hundreds and hundreds of  
other very complex regulations, and it is hard to figure out what  
one's obligations might be.  With its new website, CDT set out to  
make the campaign finances rules that might apply to individuals very  
easy to understand.  A key message that the site conveys is that the  
vast majority of online speakers are wholly exempt from the rules,  
and thus they should feel free to engage in political debate to their  
hearts' content.

Our full press release is below.

John Morris
Staff Counsel
Center for Democracy & Technology

At 10:03 AM -0400 9/12/06, David McGuire wrote:
> Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 10:03:14 -0400
> To: update () cdt org
> From: David McGuire <dmcguire () cdt org>
> Subject: [Update] CDT Launches Net Democracy Guide for Political  
> Speakers
>
> For immediate release:
> September 12, 2006
>
> Contact:
> David McGuire
> (202) 637-9800 x106
>
> New Web Site Lays Out the Rights and Obligations of Political  
> Speakers on the Internet
>
> WASHINGTON -- The vast majority of political speech by individuals  
> on the Internet is fully protected by the law and carries no risk  
> of violating campaign finance rules. That is the key message of  
> NetDemocracyGuide.org, a new Web site created by the Center for  
> Democracy & Technology (CDT) to educate Internet users about their  
> rights and obligations under campaign finance law.
>
> By drastically lowering the costs associated with mass  
> communication, the Internet has given ordinary individuals the  
> opportunity to participate in the political debate on a scale never  
> before possible. But with the Internet's growing impact on  
> electoral politics has come increased scrutiny by policymakers and  
> regulators regarding how federal campaign finance reform laws  
> should be applied to the medium. The Federal Election Commission  
> has promulgated a range of rules aimed at protecting individuals'  
> rights to speak on the Internet. Those rules, however, are part of  
> a much larger and very complex set of campaign finance rules, and  
> it is important that ordinary Internet users not let those rules  
> deter them from engaging in political activity online.
>
> "The worst possible response to the FEC rules would be for Internet  
> users to scale back their political activities. The vast majority  
> of political speakers online shouldn't lose any sleep worrying  
> about campaign finance regulations," CDT Executive Director Leslie  
> Harris said. "People need to know that -- with very few exceptions  
> -- they are free to develop websites, blog, e-mail campaign  
> material, raise money, and collaborate with their friends on  
> election related activities online without fear of incurring  
> campaign finance obligations."
>
> NetDemocracyGuide.org (http://www.netdemocracyguide.org) offers  
> users a series of simple questions to determine whether their  
> online political activities fall under the campaign finance regime.  
> As visitors to the site will learn, the campaign finance rules kick  
> in only in very limited circumstances -- primarily where payments  
> are made to place advertisements and other communications on third  
> party blogs and websites.
>
> Developed with the support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York  
> (www.carnegie.org) NetDemocracyGuide.org makes it easy for bloggers  
> and other citizen activists to quickly understand the new campaign  
> finance rules, and how those rules apply to them.
>
> The site is broken down into three easy-to-read sections. The Quick  
> Checklist identifies a range of common online political activities  
> that are not restricted in any way by the campaign finance rules.  
> For users unsure whether their activities fall into that protected  
> category, the Questions & Answers section walks users through  
> possible scenarios and how they are affected under the law. Finally  
> the Glossary describes the major terms and includes links to the  
> regulations themselves.
>
> About CDT: The Center for Democracy and Technology works to promote  
> democratic values and constitutional liberties in the digital age.  
> With expertise in law, technology, and policy, CDT seeks practical  
> solutions to enhance free expression and privacy in global  
> communications technologies. CDT is dedicated to building consensus  
> among all parties interested in the future of the Internet and  
> other new communications media.
>
> --
> --------------------------------------------------
> David McGuire
> Director of Communications
> Center for Democracy & Technology
> (202) 637 9800 x106
> (202) 423 7432 (mob)
> --------------------------------------------------

--
----------------------------------------
John B. Morris, Jr.
Staff Counsel
Director, Internet Standards, Technology
   & Policy Project
Center for Democracy and Technology
1634 I Street NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 637-9800
(202) 637-0968 fax
jmorris () cdt org
http://www.cdt.org
----------------------------------------


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