On November 2, 2005, the US House of Representatives voted 225-182 in favor of House Resolution 1606^PDF, legislation that would have exempted online political expression - blogs, emails and other forms of Internet communication - from campaign finance laws. The legislation, which would have exempted online forms from regulation by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), fell short of the two-thirds majority required for the bill to move forward. The legislation was proposed following an order by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit requiring the FEC to promulgate rules governing political speech and campaign spending online.

Learn more about campaign finance laws from the JURIST news archive.