As a general rule, if no compensation is involved, the FEC won't consider the activity (writing, emailing) to be an expenditure under their jurisdiction. Communication about candidates via blogs or emails will not be considered a "public communication," and so will not be considered an in-kind contribution to that candidate. One problem arises with the use of corporate facilities or property, such as computers, which might constitute "public communication." The proposed rules allows "occasional, isolated, or incidental" use without regulation, but not more. Prof. Volokh questions this point a little more, as does the Democracy Project. This portion of the draft stuck out in my mind:

Can on-line blogs be treated as "periodical publications" within the meaning of the exemption? See 2 U.S.C. 431(9)(B)(i). If not, why not? Is the media exemption to be limited to traditional business models, meaning entities that finance operations with subscriptions or advertising revenue?

The federal law its citing allows an exemption from FEC regulation to a "broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine or other periodical publication." Why on earth wouldn't blogs be included in this definition of periodical publication? After reading the proposals, bits and pieces irked me, but nothing was necessarily infuriating except for the fact I had to read it at all. Winfield Myers summed it up well:

It's sad that we're having this conversation at all. Each individual encroachment by the government to regulate the Internet strips away a bit more of its unique and special character as the world's greatest laboratory for freedom of expression. While many of the exclusions included in the proposed FEC rules are broad enough to capture individual bloggers, what about incorporated blogs such as Red State, Andrew Sullivan, Kos, or Wonkette? According to the proposed rules, whether their activities constitute "public communication" will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Worse, even if you conclude the FEC does not overreach in this draft, no one disputes that current campaign finance laws allow them to go much further (and may even require it). These added regulations may not occur this year, or even in ten years, but the structure for their enactment remains for future bureaucrats. In the short term, these draft rules are just that - a draft. In nearly every paragraph the FEC asks for feedback and suggestions, so if you read the proposals don't hesitate to offer your opinion. Address all comments to Mr. Brad C. Deutsch, Assistant General Counsel, at internet@fec.gov. If you wish to testify at the hearing on this rulemaking send a copy of your comments to internettestify@fec.gov. All comments must include the full name and postal service address of the commenter.

Others covering the draft rules: Seth Cooper, Command Post, Wizbang, AlphaPatriot, Spartac.us, and PunditGuy.