Political Bloggers gained a key victory as the Senate shot down a proposal that would have required political bloggers with a reach of over 500 readers to register as political lobbyists.
While I’m not heavy into political blogging, the implications would have stretched even as wide as my other blog where I have publicly endorsed a candidate and get a significant amount of traffic from people searching on Google about the candidate.
Web Pro News Has More Insight:
The U.S. Senate has shot down a proposal that would have required some political bloggers to register as lobbyists or face prison time for up to 10 years. The Senate approved an amendment that removed the section that would have required some bloggers to be regulated.
The portion that was removed from the bill was Section 220 that would have required people involved in grassroots lobbying to register with the government or face criminal and civil penalties.
Opponents of Section 220 said it would violate bloggers and nonprofit groups freedoms that are protected by the U.S. Constitution. Some of the groups opposed where from opposites ends of the political spectrum. The American Civil Liberties Union and Gun Owners of America were both in agreement over the issue.
Source: Web Pro News + The Blogging Times
Originally posted on January 20, 2007 @ 4:25 am