Congressmen finally allowed on YouTube
Members of Congress can finally use Web sites like YouTube, after committees in both the House and Senate adopted new rules allowing members to post content outside of the .gov domain, as long as it is for official purposes.
The House Rules Committee approved the change for the House of Representatives on Thursday, while the Senate Rules and Administration Committee adopted the new rules on September 19.
"In addition to their official (house.gov) Web site, a member may maintain another Web site(s), channel(s) or otherwise post material on third-party Web sites," the new House rules read. They also allow members to provide links to or embed outside content on their official sites, provided they include an exit notice indicating the visitor is leaving the House.
The Senate rules also allow for links to be added to official sites. They allow senators to use any third-party site of their choice, but the senators will have an "approved list" of sites for reference.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the change "a significant step forward toward bringing House rules into the multimedia age and allowing for members to effectively communicate with their constituents online."
Many members of Congress have, in spite of the rules, already been posting content to YouTube. Relying strictly on the official House and Senate sites can prove insufficient at times, as it did this week as Congress considered the bailout bill.
Stephanie Condon is a staff writer for CNET News focused on the intersection of technology and politics. She is based in Washington, D.C. E-mail Stephanie.
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by hbobrien
October 4, 2008 12:59 AM PDT
- Wait, wait, wait... While congresscritters have a very important job, at the end of the day they're just citizens. What possible justification could there have been to violate their first amendment rights by suppressing their speech like this?
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(4 Comments)Imagine a congressperson who just wants to put up a video of their kid to share with the grandparents.
This is nuts, both for the precedent it sets for limiting the speech of all federal employees, and for furthering the perception that they are "different" from other citizens.