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# Crackdown on blogging?
- URL: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/19337/
- Published: 2005-03-04T16:03:19.000Z
- Updated: 2019-02-14T22:32:58.000Z
- Author: openDemocracy Supporters
- Tags: #en, #Migrated, #Import 2026-04-09 18:15

Doug Ireland, who is taking part in openDemocracy's debate [Rethinking Iraq](http://www.opendemocracy.net/debates/article-2-114-2344.jsp), says in his [blog](http://direland.typepad.com/direland/2005/03/a%5Fpolitical%5Fcra.html?ref=opendemocracy.net) that "a political crackdown on blogging is coming in the US - thanks to McCain Feingold":

*Declan McCullagh has a piece out \[3 March\] for CNET that is a must-read for both bloggers and political activists: an interview with Bradley Smith, one of six members of the Federal Election Commission. It's a real eye-opener: Smith "says that the freewheeling days of political blogging and online punditry are over. In just a few months, he warns, bloggers and news organizations could risk the wrath of the federal government if they improperly link to a campaign's Web site. Even forwarding a political candidate's press release to a mailing list, depending on the details, could be punished by fines."*