Federal Elections Commission invites public input in debate over regulation of political blogs

Via MSNBC.com: The U.S. Federal Elections Commission has invited public comment as it prepares to rule on whether to regulate political blogs, particularly when it comes to how blogs fit into campaign finance law. A federal court ruled last year that omitting the Internet from regulations could undercut the 2002 McCain-Feingold Act. Democratic and Republican bloggers alike joined forces in March at the Washington, D.C. Politics Online Conference to let the FEC know their opinion: blogs should be exempted from regulation like other forms of media so as not to infringe upon their right to free speech. The FEC will hold a public hearing in June and will rule sometime in the summer.