October 12, 2017 •
FEC Seeks Comments Concerning Internet Communications Disclaimers
On October 10, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) extended the comment period concerning internet communications disclaimers regulations to November 9. The FEC is specifically requesting comments addressing advertisements on internet-enabled applications and devices.
Originally the FEC had published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on October 13, 2011, and then again on October 18, 2016, “in light of legal and technological developments since [the 2011 notice] was published,” according to the FEC. This week, the Commission has decided to again reopen the comment period to receive additional comments once more because of technological changes since the last comment period ended.
The FEC is also seeking comments addressing “possible regulatory approaches that could minimize the need for serial revisions of regulations in order to adapt to new or emerging technologies,” according to the FEC notice of October 10.
Federal regulations require disclaimers identifying who paid for a political campaign communication and whether the communication was authorized by a candidate. The FEC is not proposing changes to any other rules adopted in the Internet Communications rulemaking of 2006.
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