The Political Whore

This week, Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas will introduce H.R. 5699, which has been hailed as the “Blogger Protection Act of 2008” (CL blogophiles can breathe a sigh of relief).

Right now, “uncompensated Internet activity” is protected by a Federal Election Commission regulation that allows linking to campaign websites and writing about the views of federal candidates—which, without the regulation, could potentially be considered a campaign contribution or expenditure on the candidate’s behalf. Basically, blogs currently share the same protection from campaign finance restrictions as other media outlets.

The problem is that since this protection is regulatory, it can be changed without congressional action. Rep. Hensarling will introduce legislation that will create statutory blogger protections in the hopes of creating a more permanent solution for our online “pajama journalists.” Forge on, brave bloggers!

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