Politics and the Brave New Web

Diving into the uncharted waters of Internet politics, the Federal Election Commission began deciding today what rules should be followed by Web sites set up independently of any political campaign.

In addition, the FEC plans to seek the public's suggestions for future regulations governing use of the Internet for political campaigns.

"We're getting into the new frontier here," FEC spokesman Ron Harris said.

The commissioners discussed what criteria individuals must follow to set up their own Web sites, independent of a campaign, to tout or oppose a particular candidate.

The discussion came in response to two requests for advisory opinions, including one from Texas Gov. George W. Bush's presidential campaign. Commissioners appeared to disagree over whether it was best to answer only the narrow questions posed, or to offer broader guidance on Internet use in politics.

"Many people have a lot of questions," said commissioner Karl Sandstrom. "We best approach these one at a time. I'm going to be very supportive of allowing volunteers to engage in this activity."

Chairman Scott Thomas said that if the commission was going to stick to narrow rulings, he hoped others would pepper the FEC with more questions.

"I hope those in the audience encourage someone to give us other requests if there is a problem," Thomas said. "We would be well-served to get the questions answered as soon as possible."

Commissioners are considering an FEC staff proposal that would free campaigns from having to report, as contributions, Internet sites that offer a link to the candidate's own site, so long as the site offering the link is doing it independent of the campaign and working from a personal computer.

The issue was brought before the FEC by Bush's presidential committee, which said it had discovered several independent pro-Bush sites.

Also on the agenda was the question of whether the Democracy Network, which is partially supported by the League of Women Voters, could provide nonpartisan information about federal candidates on the Web, including links to candidates' Internet sites. Candidates would be invited to respond to e-mail and provide information about their positions on issues. The Democracy Network Web site will be part of America Online's Election 2000 coverage.

The FEC is considering a proposal to allow the Web site to operate without falling under federal limits on contributions or expenditures, since it does not support or oppose a particular candidate.

"The Web site is a new type of multifaceted vehicle, owing in large part to the technology involved," the staff's proposed opinion said.