Here’s a frightening development. The Federal Elections Commission is considering treating blogs as political operations to be regulated.
If a blog advocates for a candidate or links to her Web site, that could be considered a political contribution, the FEC contends, and bloggers would then have to calculate how much of a contribution that it. Once that limit is met, a blogger may then be prohibited from mentioning a candidate.
A judge’s ruling stated that “coordinated activity over the Internet would need to be regulated, as a minimum,” according to this story.
[B]loggers and news organizations could risk the wrath of the federal government if they improperly link to a campaign’s Web site. Even forwarding a political candidate’s press release to a mailing list, depending on the details, could be punished by fines.
This FEC effort is an affront to free speech. Bloggers are not paid political operatives. And bloggers are not journalists. We’re more like the guy on a soap box in the town square. If we want to rant about our favorite candidate, that’s our right.
This effort to regulate blogs will, I fear, find willing sympathizers in the press. Let’s watch how the press approaches this story. Bloggers threaten journalists’ control of the agenda. It’s ironic, because while bloggers get credit for uncovering stories, they don’t become stories until the MSM run with it. Still, the press views bloggers as interlopers on their territory. While journalists might not cheer on the FEC, they will likely sit back and silently welcome FEC control.