[IP] CDT Launches Net Democracy Guide for Political Speakers
Begin forwarded message:
From: John Morris <jmorris@xxxxxxx>
Date: September 13, 2006 1:05:20 AM JST
To: David Farber <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
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@xxxxxxx
From: David McGuire <dmcguire@xxxxxxx>
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@xxxxxxx
http://www.cdt.org
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