The FEC concluded in 1998 that links on a Web site could constitute "a thing of value" and that a link on a corporate site could constitute an illegal corporate contribution. The following year, however, the Commission decided that the issue turns on whether or not the owner of the web page providing the link would normally charge for providing such a link. (Advisory Opinion 1999-17)

Can the author of this site legally link to George W. Bush's official campaign site?

Because this is not a corporate site and the author does not normally charge for links, the more recent FEC Advisory Opinions indicate that linking is not a "contribution" in this situation. However, the Commission has not yet determined whether linking to a candidate's official site constitutes "coordination" with the campaign. In that case, the entire site, and not just the link, would be considered a contribution and the site's owner would have to calculate the value of the entire online political effort.

Links are integral to the nature of the World Wide Web, in fact building the "web" itself. Restrictions on linking would inhibit realization of the Web's unique vision for speech and access to information.

"The Internet is a network of networks--a decentralized, self-maintaining series of redundant links among computers and computer networks, capable of rapidly transmitting communications without direct human involvement or control. No organization or entity controls the Internet; in fact, the chaotic, random structure of the Internet precludes any exercise of such control." --Judge Preska, ALA v. Pataki.

In Advisory Opinion 1999-7, the FEC ruled that links from the Minnesota Secretary of State's Web site to candidate sites were permissible under the exemption for "nonpartisan activity designed to encourage individuals to vote or register."
This page links to the official Bush campaign site. All of the other links on the page are to anti-Bush sites or include anti-Bush comments.