In Our View: Do not regulate political bloggers, the Mankato Free Press stands up for political free speech in the blogosphere:
Congress, regulators and the courts still aren’t sure how to treat the Internet and those who use it. From protecting kids from pornography to deciding if Internet sales should be taxed, the complexities, rapid changes and sheer size of the Web create complexities for government.
Such is the case before Congress relating to whether government can oversee some of what political bloggers can do.
The Federal Elections Commission — which ensures political campaigns are run within the law — has so far ruled that Internet users are protected from the strictures of campaign laws, the same way newspapers, broadcasters and other more traditional media outlets are exempted.
But many worry that future FEC boards, or judges, will remove that protection.
The problem grows from campaign laws that authorize the FEC to regulate “anything of value used to influence an election,” including “public communications.”
That language has led some judges to ponder whether a blogger who links to a politician’s Web site or writes things in support or in opposition to a candidate, should fall under FEC regulation.
The Blogger Protection Act now before Congress would ensure that political speech from bloggers has the same First Amendment protection as the writer of this newspaper editorial.
The Act should be passed.
When political bloggers — or any other Internet users — want to write about candidates’ issues, make fun of them, support them or deride them, they deserve protection from federal campaign laws. (Those compensated by a political party or candidate would — and should — still fall under campaign law oversight under the Act.)
While the Internet provides a different vehicle for public discourse, it should not bring new restrictions on people’s ability to voice their opinions. Whether someone starts a newspaper, a blog, or speaks in the town square, they have the right to espouse their political ideals without interference from the government.
This editorial hits the central issue right on the head: independent political bloggers should enjoy the same rights as the rest of the free press. We bloggers can be as demure or as insolent as we wish, but so long as we're not compensated for our writing by candidates or political parties, the FEC and state-level regulators should just butt out.
Things get a bit murkier when a blogger gets paid by a campaign or political party to do work other than posting on one's personal blog, but self-disclosure, combined with exposure by other bloggers when disclosure isn't forthcoming, prompts most bloggers to be open about compensation, whether for blogging or for other work.
The author (and despite our annoying use of the editorial first person plural, there's only one of us) at Bluestem Prairie doesn't get compensated by a candidate or party for anything, much less the opinions on this blog. Should that change, we'll let you know.
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