On March 24 there will be an informational hearing held by the Fair Political Practices Commission’s Subcommittee on the Political Reform Act & Internet Political Activity at the University of Southern California School of Law.
I have been asked to testify before this Subcommittee and have been asked to focus my remarks on, "On developments in the use of the internet in campaigns and what you expect will happen in the future. Your thoughts about what that means for the appropriate regulatory structure for such campaign activity would also be very helpful to us."
IF AFTER READING THIS BLOG POST YOU HAVE INPUT FOR ME RELEVANT TO MY PENDING TESTIMONY, PLEASE CONTACT ME.
By way of background, here is an excerpt from the FPPC’s website where they talk about the work of this Subcommittee (see the full page here)… (Underlining added for emphasis below.)
Indeed, as traditional campaign media like slate mailers, direct mail flyers and advertisements – all of which are currently required by the Act to include disclosures of their source and financing – are increasingly replaced by email, tweets, websites and YouTube Videos, it is the responsibility of the Fair Political Practices Commission to evaluate and, if necessary and consistent with its statutory authority, adopt appropriate responses to new political realities. The FPPC does not, of course, have authority over the content of political communications nor does it have authority over the actions of individuals or groups, including using the Internet for political purposes, so long as those individuals or groups do not raise or expend sufficient funds to trigger reporting obligations under the Political Reform Act."
Here is the preliminary agenda for the hearing…
9:00-9:15 am: Welcome and opening statements by commissioners
9:15-9:45 am: Secretary of State Debra Bowen (not yet confirmed)
9:45-10:15 am: Ellen Weintraub, Chair of the Federal Election Commission
10:15-10:25 am: Break
10:25-11:10 am: Trends in the Use of the Internet in Campaigns
- Tracy Westen, Center for Governmental Studies
- Professor Jeffrey Cole, USC Center for the Digital Future
- Jon Fleischman, The Flashreport
11:10-11:55 pm: Legal Issues Relating to Regulating the Internet under the PRA
- Professor Richard Hasen, Loyola Law School
- Professor Deidre Mulligan, Center for Law and Technology, UC-Berkeley
- Fredric Woocher, Sturmwasser & Woocher
11:55-12:14 pm: Public Comment and Closing
I would welcome any and all input from FlashReport readers who may want to share some perspective and thoughts about how the FPPC should or should not be approaching its regulatory role concerns political communications, relative to the internet.
Again, if you have any input, send it my way.
Care to read comments, or make your own about today’s Daily Commentary?
Just click here to go to the FR Weblog, where this Commentary has its own blog post, and where you can read and make comments.