Web Politics

- By GIlien Silsby

FPPC hearing on Campaigns and the Internet at USC Law

A subcommittee of the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) - the state’s independent watchdog of politics and campaigns - will meet at USC Law on March 24, 2010, to discuss the current trends of paid political activity on the Internet, email and social networking sites.

The subcommittee will address several questions, including whether new rules are needed to regulate paid political activity on the Internet, in email and on social networking sites. The panel will also look at who is behind electronic messages campaigning for and against candidates and ballot measures in California.

USC Law Professor and Commissioner Elizabeth Garrett is co-chairing the hearing with Commissioner Timothy Hodson of Cal State University, Sacramento.

“I believe this will be an extremely informative event, and I encourage law students, undergraduates and other graduate students studying public policy to attend and witness how the FPPC operates,” said Garrett. “We will be seeking to better understand cutting-edge technology affecting paid political activity is operating on the web.”

In an effort to solicit a broad range of opinions, the subcommittee has invited panelists including California’s Secretary of State Debra Bowen, Federal Election Commissioner Ellen Weintraub, representatives from non-governmental organizations, political law experts, and political consultants.  

This is the subcommittee’s second informational hearing; it will present its findings later this year to the full Commission to consider whether new rules are needed requiring the disclosure of who is behind electronic messages.

The FPPC was created by California voters in 1974, to act as the public’s political watchdog. The five-member Commission educates politicians, lobbyists and public officials on the ethics and campaign finance rules of the state, interprets state statutes and Court decisions through implementing regulations, and enforces violations of these laws by assessing fines and filing civil lawsuits.  

The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m on Wednesday, March 24, in USC Law’s Ackerman Courtroom. For more information, please call Gilien Silsby at (213) 740-9690.