A proposed change to the Franking Commission, which oversees mass communications' regulations for Congress, had legislators and others calling for more leeway for government representatives to use social media.

Congress has regulated the ways its members communicate with their constituents since 1775 when it established the first "franking" privileges in order to separate election business from tax-payer funded outreach. One of the primary means was mass mailings. The Franking Commission, formally established in 1973, has seen its role ...