[JURIST] The Federal Election Commission (FEC) [official website] decided in a 6-0 vote Monday to approve rules [draft text, PDF] that include subject Internet advertising to current campaign finance laws. The rules will regulate only paid advertisements on another person's website, and will not include blogs, e-mails, and other online publications. The FEC introduced [JURIST report] the proposed rules Friday in response to a federal court order [opinion text, PDF] that required the FEC to create new rules including internet advertisements in campaign financing and spending regulations.

The federal campaign finance laws [FEC backgrounder] previously regulated campaign ads for federal candidates, but did not include political advertisements on the Internet. Under the new rules, political candidates must pay for internet advertisements out of funds regulated under the campaign finance laws. The laws also limit individual contributions to $2,000, and ban union and corporate donations to federal candidates. AP has more.