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Full-Text Articles in Law
Statewide Cable Franchising: Expand Nationwide Or Cut The Cord?, James G. Parker
Statewide Cable Franchising: Expand Nationwide Or Cut The Cord?, James G. Parker
Federal Communications Law Journal
In the name of increasing competition in the cable television market, Congress passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996. While this eliminated the barriers to entry using federal law, it did not change the nature of municipality-based cable system monopolies. In an effort to expand competition more quickly and efficiently, the phone companies (Verizon and AT&T) successfully supported legislation in at least twenty-five states that permits a single state application to compete statewide. This Note explores the varying approaches taken in the laws passed to date, analyzes the outcomes flowing from those implemented plans, and provides recommendations of the best practices …
My View From The Doorstep Of Fcc Change, Kathleen Q. Abernathy
My View From The Doorstep Of Fcc Change, Kathleen Q. Abernathy
Federal Communications Law Journal
Commissioner Abernathy discusses the five key principles that inform her regulatory philosophy:
1) Congress sets the FCC's responsibilities in the Communications Act, and the Commission should faithfully implement those tasks rather than pursuing an independent agenda;
2) Fully functioning markets deliver better products and services to consumers as compared to markets regulated by the government. Unless structural factors prevent markets from being competitive, or Congress has established objectives (such as universal service) that are not market-based, government should be reluctant to intervene in the marketplace;
3) Where the FCC promulgates rules, it should ensure that those rules are clear and …
The Fcc’S Implementation Of The 1996 Act: Agency Litigation Strategies And Delay, Rebecca Beynon
The Fcc’S Implementation Of The 1996 Act: Agency Litigation Strategies And Delay, Rebecca Beynon
Federal Communications Law Journal
Since it began promulgating rules to implement the local competition provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the FCC has been under attack in the courts. The road has been a rough one, and the Commission has lost on a good many issues. The Commission has regularly accused its opponents in these legal battles-chiefly the incumbent local exchange carriers-of using litigation to impede the implementation of the 1996 Act’s local competition provisions. As discussed in this Article, if litigation has in fact slowed the introduction of competition in the local exchange markets, the Commission itself must share some of the …
Limiting Tort Liability For Online Third-Party Content Under Section 230 Of The Communications Act, Jonathan A. Friedman, Francis M. Buono
Limiting Tort Liability For Online Third-Party Content Under Section 230 Of The Communications Act, Jonathan A. Friedman, Francis M. Buono
Federal Communications Law Journal
Section 230 of the Communications Act provides online service providers (OSPs) with immunity from liability for harms arising from third-party content that is made available through an OSP's services. Some courts have recently held that section 230 immunity covers not only defamation but any tort claim that would make an OSP liable for information originating from the OSP's users or commercial partners. This Article argues that section 230 has been properly interpreted by the courts and that, contrary to the claims of critics, those decisions have not created a disincentive for OSPs aggressively to monitor their sites for defamatory or …