McCain-Feingold Has Nothing on the Net

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“Politicians love loopholes,” Slate publisher Cyrus Krohn says gleefully, as he identifies a glaring one in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. The rule barring independent groups from airing political ads 30 days before primaries and 60 days before general elections—meant to lessen the influence of soft money—does not apply to the Web.

The Supreme Court upheld the exemption in December, rejecting claims that the legislation—commonly known as McCain-Feingold—unfairly favored online advertising. Krohn, who also advises Microsoft’s MSN on political advertising, intends to use the loophole as a sales hook, especially for MSN’s ad-supported video service.

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