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Full-Text Articles in Communications Law
“Hello…It’S Me. [Please Don’T Sue Me!]” Examining The Fcc’S Overbroad Calling Regulations Under The Tcpa, Marissa A. Potts
“Hello…It’S Me. [Please Don’T Sue Me!]” Examining The Fcc’S Overbroad Calling Regulations Under The Tcpa, Marissa A. Potts
Brooklyn Law Review
Americans have received unwanted telemarketing calls for decades. In response to a rapid increase in pre-recorded calls made using autodialer devices, Congress enacted the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in 1992. The TCPA imposes restrictions on calls made to consumers’ residences and wireless phones using autodialer devices, even if they are not telemarketing calls. Congress appointed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to prescribe rules and regulations to enforce the TCPA. In 2015, the FCC released an order that defined autodialer more broadly under the statute. Consequently, devices that have the potential to become autodialers in the future, even if they …
Television For All: Increasing Television Accessibility For The Visually Impaired Through The Fcc's Ability To Regulate Video Description Technology, Joshua S. Robare
Television For All: Increasing Television Accessibility For The Visually Impaired Through The Fcc's Ability To Regulate Video Description Technology, Joshua S. Robare
Federal Communications Law Journal
Video descriptions allow people who have visual impairments to get the full benefits from television. Through voiceovers those who have problems seeing are told what is happening on screen allowing them to get the most out of viewing television. However, the Federal Communications Commission currently lacks the authority to require broadcasters to create video descriptions for their programs following the decision in Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission. This situation contrasts with closed caption which allows viewers with hearing problems read the dialog being said on screen. The FCC retained the power to regulate closed captions …
From One [Expletive] Policy To The Next: The Fcc's Regulation Of "Fleeting Expletives" And The Supreme Court's Response, Brandon J. Almas
From One [Expletive] Policy To The Next: The Fcc's Regulation Of "Fleeting Expletives" And The Supreme Court's Response, Brandon J. Almas
Federal Communications Law Journal
After the broadcast of the 2003 Golden Globe Awards, during which the lead singer from U2 uttered an expletive on national television, the FCC revisited its prior policy on the use of expletives on the airwaves and declared, for the first time, that "fleeting expletives" are offensive according to community standards and are therefore finable. In a lawsuit filed in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, Fox Television Stations, Inc. along with a number of other broadcasters argued that the FCC's new policy was arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act and unconstitutional under the First Amendment. The Second …
Examining The Fcc's Indecency Regulations In Light Of Today's Technology, Elizabeth H. Steele
Examining The Fcc's Indecency Regulations In Light Of Today's Technology, Elizabeth H. Steele
Federal Communications Law Journal
Indecency regulations promulgated by the FCC used to be effective, but today's technological advances call those regulations into question. With the prevalence of digital video recorders and the availability of television shows on the Internet, children have unprecedented access to material broadcast at all times of day. As a result, the "safe harbor" rationale restricting the broadcast of indecent material no longer makes sense. A move toward deregulation is the most logical step to take, as it would prevent any First Amendment violations and would allow the networks freedom to broadcast material that the public may be interested in without …
Fcc V. Fox Television Stations And The Fcc's New Fleeting Expletive Policy, Jerome A. Barron
Fcc V. Fox Television Stations And The Fcc's New Fleeting Expletive Policy, Jerome A. Barron
Federal Communications Law Journal
This Article focuses on the Supreme Court's decision in FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc., 129 S. Ct. 1800 (2009). In that case, the Supreme Court upheld an important change in the FCC indecency regulation. In the past, the FCC's policy had been that the broadcast of a single expletive did not violate FCC indecency policy. In order for such fleeting expletives to be actionable, the FCC required that they had to be repetitive and gratuitous. But in 2004, in response to the use of some expletives by entertainers during the Golden Globe Awards, the FCC changed its policy and …
Derailed By The D.C. Circuit: Getting Network Management Regulation Back On Track, Edward B. Mulligan V
Derailed By The D.C. Circuit: Getting Network Management Regulation Back On Track, Edward B. Mulligan V
Federal Communications Law Journal
As the Internet continues to play a more central role in the daily lives of Americans, concerns about how Internet service providers manage their networks have arisen. Responding to these concerns and recognizing the importance of maintaining the open and competitive nature of the Internet, the FCC has taken incremental steps to regulate network management practices. Perhaps the most significant of these steps was its August 2008 Memorandum Decision and Order in which the FCC condemned Comcast Corporation's network management practices as "discriminatory and arbitrary." In that Order, the FCC required that Comcast (1) adopt new practices that complied with …
Reassessing Turner And Litigating The Must-Carry Law Beyond A Facial Challenge, R. Matthew Warner
Reassessing Turner And Litigating The Must-Carry Law Beyond A Facial Challenge, R. Matthew Warner
Federal Communications Law Journal
In recent decades, the must-carry rules have had a troubled constitutional history. After two sets of rules were struck down by the D.C. Circuit for violating the First Amendment rights of both cable programmers and operators, Congress revised the must-carry rules in the 1992 Cable Act. In 1997, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, determined that the congressional must-carry law was facially constitutional. However, does the Turner II decision preclude further First Amendment challenges to the must-carry law? This Note argues that the answer is no and that the time is drawing near for new challenges.
In The Dark: A Consumer Perspective On Fcc Broadcast Indecency Denials, Genelle I. Belmas, Gail D. Love, Brian C. Foy
In The Dark: A Consumer Perspective On Fcc Broadcast Indecency Denials, Genelle I. Belmas, Gail D. Love, Brian C. Foy
Federal Communications Law Journal
Indecency regulation has been a hot political and social topic since Janet Jackson revealed her breast during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. The number of indecency complaints the FCC receives each year continues to rise. Moreover, to further complicate matters, in 2007 the Second Circuit overturned the FCC policy that so-called "fleeting expletives" would be considered indecent. However, there has been no systematic review of the complaints from the perspective of the complainant. How has the FCC managed its increasing indecency complaint load, and what does it tell consumers who have taken the time to write formal complaints about …
Brand X And The Wireline Broadband Report And Order: The Beginning Of The End Of The Distinction Between Title I And Title Ii Services, J. Steven Rich
Brand X And The Wireline Broadband Report And Order: The Beginning Of The End Of The Distinction Between Title I And Title Ii Services, J. Steven Rich
Federal Communications Law Journal
This Article traces the development of the FCC's distinction between "telecommunications services" subject to common carrier services under Title II of the 1934 Communications Act and "information services" regulated under Title I of the Act from the Computer Inquiry line of cases through the Brand X decision and recent Wireline Broadband Report and Order. The Author pays particular attention to the Brand X decision and the FCC's Wireline Broadband Order and its implications, suggesting that the Order may be subject to reversal when it is challenged in court and proposing how the Commission might react to a reversal. The Author …
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 …
Do You Feel The Sunshine? Government In The Sunshine Act: Its Objectives, Goals, And Effect On The Fcc And You, Kathy Bradley
Do You Feel The Sunshine? Government In The Sunshine Act: Its Objectives, Goals, And Effect On The Fcc And You, Kathy Bradley
Federal Communications Law Journal
This Note posits that the Sunshine Act should be narrowed to allow the FCC to operate in the same way as Congress and the Federal courts. The FCC should be allowed to engage in open and frank discussion of issues facing the Commission without rigid restrictions on collegial conversation between Commission members.
Reinventing Fcc Adjudication, Sidney White Rhyne
Reinventing Fcc Adjudication, Sidney White Rhyne
Federal Communications Law Journal
No abstract provided.