Dems on FEC open to new regs on donors, Internet

[Ubiquitous]

Claiming that thousands of public comments condemning “dark money” in
politics can’t be ignored, the Democrat-chaired Federal Election
Commission on Wednesday appeared ready to open the door to new
regulations on donors, bloggers and others who use the Internet to
influence policy and campaigns.

During a broad FEC hearing to discuss a recent Supreme Court decision
that eliminated some donor limits, proponents encouraged the agency to
draw up new funding disclosure rules and require even third-party
internet-based groups to reveal donors, a move that would extinguish a
2006 decision to keep the agency’s hands off the Internet.

Noting the 32,000 public comments that came into the FEC in advance of
the hearing, Democratic Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub said, “75
percent thought that we need to do more about money in politics,
particularly in the area of disclosure. And I think that's something
that we can't ignore.”

But a former Republican FEC chairman said in his testimony that if the
agency moves to regulate the Internet, including news voices like the
Drudge Report as GOP commissioners have warned, many thousands more
comments will flood in in opposition of regulation.

“If you produce a rule that says we are going to start regulating this
stuff, including the internet and so on, I think you will see a lot
more than 32,000 comments come in and I don't think staff will analyze
them and find that 75 percent are favorable to more regulation,” said
Bradley Smith, now with the Center for Competitive Politics.

Democratic Chairwoman Ann Ravel, who called the hearing, has said she
wants to regulate politicking on the Internet, though she has pulled
back amid a public outcry, especially among conservatives who see her
move as a bid to silence center-right websites and Internet based
conservative groups and news sites.

However, two groups, including the League of Women Voters, said they
support more disclosure by those who use the Internet to influence
campaigns and policy.


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