The Commission is currently examining the issues raised by the use of the Internet to conduct campaign activity. The Commission is conducting this review in order to assess the applicability of the Federal Election Campaign Act and the Commission's current regulations to campaign activity conducted using this medium. In order to assist in its review, the Commission invites comments on the application of the Act and the current regulations to Internet campaign activity. An NPRM would seek further comment on any proposed revisions to the Commission's rules. The Commission has made no final decisions regarding the issues discussed in this notice, and may ultimately decide to take no action.
Further information is provided in the supplementary information that follows.
Comments must be submitted on or before January 4, 2000. All comments should be addressed to Rosemary C. Smith, Acting Assistant General Counsel, and must be submitted in either written or electronic form. Additional information on electronic submission is provided below. In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of the Internet to conduct campaign activity related to federal elections. Individuals and other organizations have also used the Internet to participate directly in election campaigns, taking advantage of the medium's capacity to reach large numbers of people at very little cost.