Cybersecurity Policy Report, FEC Rule Would Allow Use of Campaign Funds for Cybersecurity, (Apr 8, 2024)
Organizations Mentioned:Federal Election Commission
Candidates for federal office would be allowed to use campaign funds for cybersecurity expenses under rules proposed by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) due to be published in tomorrow’s Federal Register, the FEC notes that it previously issued advisory opinions in individual cases that the Federal Election Campaign Act allows candidates to use campaign funds for physical and cyber security or to accept free help from groups offering security services (CPR, May 22, 2019).
The NPRM would offer blanket approval for the use of campaign funds for security by amending the FEC’s implementing rules for the act, which otherwise bar the use of campaign funds for “personal” use by candidates.
In its previous opinions, the commission “determined that the incidental benefit to others of cybersecurity measures, like the incidental benefit to others of home security measures to protect against physical harm, do not change the conclusion that such expenses are ordinary and necessary expenses” for federal candidates and officeholders, the NPRM says.
The use of campaign funds for cybersecurity might provide incidental benefits to candidates’ family members or campaign staff, the NPRM says, and it asks whether the FEC should define “the scope of permissible ‘incidental’ benefits.”
Comments on the NPRM will be due 60 days after its Federal Register publication and should be filed in docket REG 2024-01 on the FEC’s online rulemaking portal.
News: FederalLegislation DataSecurity