Online Freedom of Speech Act

House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) issued the following statement after House Democrats rejected H.R. 1606, the Online Freedom of Speech Act. The bill failed 225-182. Under the House suspension rules, it needed a two-thirds majority to pass.

“Today’s action marks a sad day for one of our nation’s most sacred rights: freedom of speech. The federal government seeks to control and regulate the Internet, but the last thing this Congress should be doing is trying to stifle public debate online. This bill would have kept the hands of the federal government off of Internet speech and protected the online debate that’s underway. Our world has evolved and grown more technologically savvy. Lawmakers need to adjust to these changes. Unfortunately, opponents of online speech have decided to punish our changing technological world. It’s especially unfortunate that Democratic Leader Pelosi voted no to free speech. This bill will come back under regular order, and I encourage all those who support free speech on the Internet to make their voices heard.”

Note: When Congress passed campaign finance reform in 2002, the legislation did not identify the Internet as a target of regulation. But recently a federal judge ruled that the FEC's previous broad exemption of the Internet was impermissible, absent clear direction from Congress. HR 1606 would exclude blogs and other types of communications over the Internet from regulation by the FEC.