Targeting Political Speech for the Next Election

[Commentary] Federal Election Commission Vice Chairwoman Ann Ravel appears to be dreaming of imposing on the nation what she was unable to impose on California -- the regulation of political speech on the Internet.

As chairwoman of the California Fair Political Practices Commission, she announced that the commission would issue regulations governing political speech on the Internet. The rules, she said, would even govern bloggers outside the state. Californians raised a fuss and her efforts got nowhere. Now she’s back, and in a more powerful position in Washington. The FEC already regulates paid Internet advertising, but free Internet posts are exempt from campaign-finance regulations. The Federal Election Commission exists solely to protect the public against potential corruption of public officials. It has no authority to regulate pure political speech, which is what the Web does: It disseminates pure political speech.

[Rotunda is a law professor at Fowler Law School, Chapman University]