Dear generica-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting question.
?In 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Buckley v. Valeo that
political ads that ?expressly advocate? the election or defeat of a
candidate for public office or other ballot initiatives could be
regulated, at least to some degree, as part of a government?s efforts
to keep elections clean and open.?
POLITICAL ADS STILL REQUIRE DISCLOSURE
http://www.texaspress.com/AskAttorney/attorney0903_2.htm
2 U.S.C. SS 441d and Commission regulations at 11 CFR 110.11 set forth
the information required to be conspicuously placed on political
advertising and communications which pertain to any Federal election.
In the instance of a campaign communication (newspaper, signage,
brochures, television, radio, etc) which is paid for and authorized by
the candidate or paid for by the candidate's authorized committee(s),
2 U.S.C. SS 441d(1) requires that a statement be included that the
communication has been paid for by these authorized political
committee(s), members or others.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2 U.S.C. SS 441d: PUBLICATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF STATEMENTS AND
SOLICITATIONS; CHARGE FOR NEWSPAPER OR MAGAZINE SPACE
(A)
WHENEVER ANY PERSON MAKES AN EXPENDITURE FOR THE PURPOSE OF FINANCING
COMMUNICATIONS EXPRESSLY ADVOCATING THE ELECTION OR DEFEAT OF A
CLEARLY IDENTIFIED CANDIDATE, OR SOLICITS ANY CONTRIBUTION THROUGH ANY
BROADCASTING STATION, NEWSPAPER, MAGAZINE, OUTDOOR ADVERTISING
FACILITY, DIRECT MAILING, OR ANY OTHER TYPE OF GENERAL PUBLIC
POLITICAL ADVERTISING, SUCH COMMUNICATION -
(1)
IF PAID FOR AND AUTHORIZED BY A CANDIDATE, AN AUTHORIZED POLITICAL
COMMITTEE OF A CANDIDATE, OR ITS AGENTS, SHALL CLEARLY STATE THAT THE
COMMUNICATION HAS BEEN PAID FOR BY SUCH AUTHORIZED POLITICAL
COMMITTEE, OR [1]
(2)
IF PAID FOR BY OTHER PERSONS BUT AUTHORIZED BY A CANDIDATE, AN
AUTHORIZED POLITICAL COMMITTEE OF A CANDIDATE, OR ITS AGENTS, SHALL
CLEARLY STATE THAT THE COMMUNICATION IS PAID FOR BY SUCH OTHER PERSONS
AND AUTHORIZED BY SUCH AUTHORIZED POLITICAL COMMITTEE; [1]
(3)
IF NOT AUTHORIZED BY A CANDIDATE, AN AUTHORIZED POLITICAL COMMITTEE OF
A CANDIDATE, OR ITS AGENTS, SHALL CLEARLY STATE THE NAME OF THE PERSON
WHO PAID FOR THE COMMUNICATION AND STATE THAT THE COMMUNICATION IS NOT
AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE.
(B)
NO PERSON WHO SELLS SPACE IN A NEWSPAPER OR MAGAZINE TO A CANDIDATE OR
TO THE AGENT OF A CANDIDATE, FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH SUCH
CANDIDATE'S CAMPAIGN, MAY CHARGE ANY AMOUNT FOR SUCH SPACE WHICH
EXCEEDS THE AMOUNT CHARGED FOR COMPARABLE USE OF SUCH SPACE FOR OTHER
PURPOSES
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11 CFR 110.11
This on is quite lengthy so I won?t paste it here but you can read the
entire regulation using this link:
TITLE 11--FEDERAL ELECTIONS
CHAPTER I--FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION
PART 110--CONTRIBUTION AND EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS AND PROHIBITIONS
http://squid.law.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/get-cfr.cgi?TITLE=11&PART=110&SECTION=11&TYPE=TEXT
Here are some pertinent excerpts (there are many here like these here):
?(c) Disclaimer specifications--(1) Specifications for all
disclaimers. A disclaimer required by paragraph (a) of this section
must be presented in a clear and conspicuous manner, to give the
reader, observer, or listener adequate notice of the identity of the
person or political committee that paid for and, where required, that
authorized the communication. A disclaimer is not clear and
conspicuous if it is difficult to read or hear, or if the placement is
easily overlooked.?
?(3) Specific requirements for radio and television communications
authorized by candidates. In addition to the general requirements of
paragraphs (b) and (c)(1) of this section, a communication that is
authorized or paid for by a candidate or the authorized committee of a
candidate (see paragraph (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section) that is
transmitted through radio or television, or through any broadcast,
cable, or satellite transmission, must comply with the following:...?
You will notice however that there are certain exemptions, notably
Section 110.11(a)(6)(i) that exempts small items on which "the
disclaimer cannot conveniently be printed." And Section
110.11(a)(6)(ii) which exempts "advertisements of such a nature that
the inclusion of a disclaimer would be impracticable."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 [BCRA] (effective November
6, 2002) revises section 441d to require disclaimers in more
communications, and to require even more information in some
disclaimers. This is another lengthy document so I?ll simply provide
this convenient link for you to examine it at your leisure:
BIPARTISAN CAMPAIGN REFORM ACT OF 2002
http://www.fecwatch.org/law/statutes/publaw107-155.pdf
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Beyond these regulations and the laws set forth within them, the FEC
does not endeavor to regulate the ?types? of advertisement provided as
long as the ads comply with other established Federal Regulations and
FCC rules.
Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any
questions about my research please post a clarification request prior
to rating the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final
comments and I look forward to working with you again in the near
future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad ? Google Answers Researcher
INFORMATION SOURCES
CORNELL LAW -
2 U.S.C. SS 441d: PUBLICATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF STATEMENTS AND
SOLICITATIONS; CHARGE FOR NEWSPAPER OR MAGAZINE SPACE
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/2/441d.html
CORNELL LAW-
11 CFR 110.11:
TITLE 11--FEDERAL ELECTIONS
CHAPTER I--FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION
PART 110--CONTRIBUTION AND EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS AND PROHIBITIONS
http://squid.law.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/get-cfr.cgi?TITLE=11&PART=110&SECTION=11&TYPE=TEXT
DISCLAIMER NOTICES
http://www.pnpa.com/legal/handbook2/Disclaimernotices.htm
FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN ACT
http://www.fec.gov/law/feca.pdf
BIPARTISAN CAMPAIGN REFORM ACT OF 2002
http://www.fecwatch.org/law/statutes/publaw107-155.pdf
Federal Election Commission
999 E Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20463
800/424-9530
202/694-1100 (local)
202/219-3336 (for the hearing impaired)
http://www.fec.gov
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINES USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
Election, disclosure, regulations, laws, campaign, ad, advertisement, ?paid for? |
Clarification of Answer by
tutuzdad-ga
on
31 Jan 2004 07:34 PST
Dear generica-ga;
Yes there is, but it's not necessarily clear in all cases and
certainly not well organized. Officially, this was the intended
purpose of the BIPARTISAN CAMPAIGN REFORM ACT OF 2002, at least until
better legislation exists:
BIPARTISAN CAMPAIGN REFORM ACT OF 2002
http://www.fecwatch.org/law/statutes/publaw107-155.pdf
The Public Law addresses telephone activity quite a bit such as:
Section 101(22) Public Communication
Section 101(23) Mass mailing
SEction 101(24) Telephone bank
...just to name a few.
The internet is mentioned in this Public Law (116 STAT 86 107-155) but
only briefly. When it comes to elections, it seems that the internet
might not have found its historical place in the legal areana just
yet.
Until then, the FEC issued this Federal Election Commission Notice of
Inquiry which states in part:
"the FEC is currently examining the issues raised by the use of the
Internet to conduct campaign activity."
TECH LAW JOURNAL
Federal Election Commission Notice of Inquiry.
Re: Use of the Internet for Campaign Activity.
Date issued by FEC: November 1, 1999.
Date published in Federal Register: November 5, 1999.
Source: Government Printing Office.
Cite: Federal Register, November 5, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 214),
pages 60360-60368.
http://www.techlawjournal.com/agencies/fec/internet/19991101noi.htm
If an FEC issue is not clear, it must first be debated in the form of
"requests" and "comments" known as ADVISORY OPINIONS, wherein someone
or some entity requests an FEC clarification in hopes of recieving a
positive response. One such Advisory Opinion Request and subsequent
comments with regard to this can be found here:
FEC ADVISORY OPINION REQUEST
AOR 03-37 -- Americans for a Better Country
http://www.fec.gov/aoreq.html
These types of opinions and many, many more interesting an informative
articles on the subject can be found online by using a search engine
and typing in the search terms:
INTERNET FEC LAW
I hope this provides you with some better insight into the issue. I've
enjoyed working with you and I look forward to your rating and final
comments.
Regards;
tutuzdad-ga
|
,
1 Comment
)