Communications Law Commons^™

Zoning The Internet: A New Approach To Protecting Children Online, Cheryl B. Preston

BYU Law Review

This Article considers how Internet architecture can be harnessed to create an online environment where government regulation of material harmful to minors can be effective but not unreasonably burdensome. It proposes a solution that engages technology in refocusing the point of regulation, thereby reducing the burden on speech and increasing the ability to achieve constitutionally recognized governmental objectives. This Article briefly examines failed congressional attempts to restrict children's access to sexually explicit content online, and then introduces the Internet Community Ports Concept, which relies on channeling technology to divide kinds of content among various Internet ports. After briefly outlining the …

Making Family-Friendly Internet A Reality: The Internet Community Ports Act, Dawn C. Nunziato

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

A New First Amendment Model For Evaluating Content-Based Regulation Ofinternet Pornography: Revising The Strict Scrutiny Model To Better Reflect The Realities Of The Modern Media Age, Mark S. Kende

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Searching For Patterns In The Laws Governing Access To Records And Meetings In The Fifty States By Using Multiple Research Tools, Bill F. Chamberlin, Cristina Popsecu, Michael F. Weigold, Nissa Laughner

UF Law Faculty Publications

In this Essay, the authors explain how the combination of social science and legal methodologies can effectively answer complex questions involving public access laws. Discussing the project's methodology could also be useful to legal and communication scholars wishing to develop and improve state law compilations in order to identify in greater detail public policy established by state legislatures and the courts. Furthermore, although the MBCAP so far has focused on aspects of state public records laws, the methodology presented here may be replicated or modified for other areas of law where ranking and comparison of multiple jurisdictions would be useful. …

Editor's Note, Matthew D. Lawless

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Expansion Of Indecency Regulation: Presented By The Federalist Society's Telecommunications Practice Group, Kevin J. Martin, Adam G. Ciongoli, Robert W. Peters, Roger Pilon, David B. Sentelle

Federal Communications Law Journal

This is a transcript of the November 10, 2005, panel discussion at the National Lawyer's Convention presented by the Federalist Society's Telecommunications Practice Group. The panelists debate and discuss the Federal Communications Commission's ("FCC") regulation of indecent content.

Space, The Final Frontier-Expanding Fcc Regulation Of Indecent Content Onto Direct Broadcast Satellite, John C. Quale, Malcolm J. Tuesley

Federal Communications Law Journal

The vast majority of viewers today receive video programming from multichannel video programming providers-mostly cable television or direct broadcast satellite ("DBS")-rather than directly over-the-air from broadcast stations. While the FCC has not hesitated to sanction broadcasters for what it deems to be indecent content, it consistently has found that it lacks the authority to regulate indecency on subscription services like cable television. Citizens groups and some in Congress now seek to extend indecency restrictions to DBS services under existing law or through the enactment of new legislation. It is true that DBS, because of its use of radio spectrum to …

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 …

Summing Up The Public Interest: A Review Of "Media Diversity And Localism: Meaning And Metrics," Edited By Philip M. Napoli, Victoria F. Phillips

Federal Communications Law Journal

Philip Napoli's Media Diversity and Localism: Meaning and Metrics, is a thoughtful and first of its kind compilation of some of the ongoing research and scholarship examining the concepts of diversity and localism underlying the Federal Communications Commission's public interest standard in broadcasting. The collection of essays addresses these fundamental goals from a variety of disciplines beyond the law, including political science, communications policy, sociology, and economics. The essays explore the values associated with these two goals, apply performance metrics to assess existing regulatory policies intended to preserve and promote these goals, and reflect on their meaning in the new …

Masthead Vol.60 No.1 (2007)

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Deal Or No Deal: Reinterpreting The Fcc's Foreign Ownership Rules For A Fair Game, Cindy J. Cho

Federal Communications Law Journal

With the changing racial and linguistic composition of the American market and the emerging strength of the Mexican market, American broadcast companies are facing a new competitive playing field.. Section 310 of the Communications Act of 1934 ("Act") establishes the guidelines for when a foreign national is eligible to apply for a broadcast license from the FCC. The FCC currently interprets these limits on foreign ownership very leniently, favoring a policy of deregulation in an attempt to further open up the United States market. This Note argues that once foreign nationals have cleared the hurdle of § 310's foreign ownership …

Rethinking The Communications Decency Act: Eliminating Statutory Protections Of Discriminatory Housing Advertisements On The Internet, James D. Shanahan

Federal Communications Law Journal

The recent decision in Craigslist signals a drastic reduction in the effectiveness of the prohibition on discriminatory housing advertisements under the Fair Housing Act ("FHA"). Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act gives blanket immunity to Internet Content Providers from publisher liability for content originating from third parties. One of the effects of this immunity is the creation of a monopoly for discriminatory advertisements otherwise proscribed by the FHA. This Note argues that the simplest solution for Congress is to adjust the language of § 230 by adding the FHA to the list of exceptions to statutory immunity.

Direito E Política Na Era Espacial: Podemos Ser Mais Justos No Espaço De Que Na Terra? (Law And Policy In The Space Age: Can We Be More Just [Or Equitable] In Space Than On Earth?) By José Monserrat Filho, Sylvia Ospina

Journal of Space Law

No abstract provided.

Created Facts And The Flawed Ontology Of Copyright Law, Justin Hughes

Articles

It is black letter doctrine that facts are not copyrightable: facts are discovered, not created—so they will always lack the originality needed for copyright protection. As straightforward as this reasoning seems, it is fundamentally flawed. Using the “social facts” theory of philosopher John Searle, this Article explores a variety of “created facts” cases—designation systems, systematic evaluations, and privately written laws—in which original expression from private individuals is adopted by social convention and generates facts in our social reality. In the course of this discussion, the paper places facts in their historical and philosophical context, explores how courts conflate facts with …

I Want My Mtv ... And My Abc, Cbs, Nbc, And Fox: Cbs Broadcasting, Inc. V. Echostar Communications Corp., The Satellite Home Viewer Act Of 1988, And An Argument For Consumer Choice In Distant Network Broadcasting, Kevin W. Harris

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Silenced: The Search For A Legally Accountable Censor And Why Sanitization Of The Broadcast Airwaves Is Monopolization, Matthew S. Schneider

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

A (My)Space Of One's Own: On Privacy And Online Social Networks, Patricia S. Abril

Articles

No abstract provided.

The Economic Incentive Behind The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, Dana Gale

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

This piece examines the difference between the stated and underlying purposes of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. While the Act's proponents cite the protection of family values and the prevention of money laundering and terrorism as the motivation for the legislation, the underlying purpose of the Act appears to be economic in nature. The number of Internet gamblers has grown in recent years to over twenty million, with as many as 80 percent of players residing in the United States. Further, because of federal laws prohibiting domestic, remote gambling, most, if not all, Internet gambling companies operate …

"Prologue To A Farce?" A Historical Perspective On The Aipac Case And The Applicability Of The Espionage Act To Journalists, Peter Shapiro

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The note argues that the expansion of the Espionage Act of 1917 to prosecute private citizens, as seen in the AIPAC case, poses a significant threat to press freedom and democratic governance. This shift marks a dangerous precedent, as it potentially criminalizes activities protected by the First Amendment, such as journalism, and undermines the balance between national security and the public's right to know.

Choosing Between The Necessity And Public Interest Standards In Fcc Review Of Media Ownership Rules, Peter Dicola

Michigan Law Review

Section 202(h) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended, directs the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") to review its media ownership rules every four years. But the statute contains an ambiguity regarding the standard of review that the FCC must apply during such proceedings. To retain a particular media ownership regulation, must the FCC merely show that the regulation advances one of the FCC's three public-interest goals for media: competition, diversity, and localism-applying a "public interest" standard? Or must the FCC meet the higher burden of demonstrating that the regulation is also indispensable for maintaining competition, diversity, or localism at …

Terrorism And The State: Limits Of Self-Protection (The Parameters Of Internet (Runet) Regulation), A. N. Medushevsky

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Recording Satellite Radio - Adapting To Modern Technology Or Infringing Copyright?, Jason A. Auerbach

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Helping Hand: Addressing New Implications Of The Espionage Act On Freedom Of The Press, Laura Barandes

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reach Out And Text Someone: How Test Message Spam May Be A Call Under The Tcpa, Daniel L. Hadjinian

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

The Arizona Court of Appeals recently found a business liable for sending an unsolicited advertisement email to a recipient’s wireless phone in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPA”). The court concluded that an email sent to a wireless phone constitutes a “call,” and noted that such a commercial call created the same concerns about consumer privacy that Congress intended to remedy with the TCPA. This finding is consistent with an earlier Federal Communications Commission ruling. Preliminary cases indicate that other courts may be willing to adopt a similar interpretation of the TCPA. In light of this …

Fundamental Reform In Public Safety Communications Policy, Jon M. Peha

Federal Communications Law Journal

Symposium: The Crisis in Public Safety Communications. Held at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, December 8, 2006.

The communications systems used by first responders in the U.S. are inadequate, primarily because of outdated and ineffective public policy. Fundamental reform is needed, and the upcoming digital TV transition provides an outstanding opportunity. This Article describes options available to policymakers, if they act soon.

Solving The Interoperability Problem: Are We On The Same Channel? An Essay On The Problems And Prospects For Public Safety Radio, Gerald R. Faulhaber

Federal Communications Law Journal

Symposium: The Crisis in Public Safety Communications. Held at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, December 8, 2006.

A number of disasters over the last two decades have demonstrated the dire consequences that occur when first responders are unable to communicate due to interoperability of their communications equipment. Each such disaster is followed by a strong reaction from the Federal government, promising immediate action, often with plans to deploy the latest technology. In fact, nothing has ever actually happened at the Federal level to solve first responders' interoperability problem. As I show using a case study from Delaware, states …

Sending Out An S.O.S.: Public Safety Communications Interoperability As A Collective Action Problem, Jerry Brito

Federal Communications Law Journal

Symposium: The Crisis in Public Safety Communications. Held at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, December 8, 2006.

Lack of public safety communications interoperability is the result of what economist Mancur Olson called a collective action problem. In this case, the collective action problem that first responders face is caused by the federal policy of allocating and assigning public safety spectrum in a way that segregates first responders to their own bands and ultimately Balkanizes their radio systems. This Article shows that market forces can be employed to solve collective action problems, and it surveys several successful commercial interoperable …

Keeping The Internet Neutral?: Tim Wu And Christopher Yoo Debate, Tim Wu, Christopher Yoo

Federal Communications Law Journal

"Net neutrality" has been among the leading issues of telecommunications policy this decade. Is the neutrality of the Internet fundamental to its success, and worth regulating to protect, or simply a technical design subject to improvement? In this debate-form commentary, Tim Wu and Christopher Yoo make clear the connection between net neutrality and broader issues of national telecommunications policy.

Masthead Vol.59 No.3 (2007)

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Communicating During Emergencies: Toward Interoperability And Effective Information Management, Philip J. Weiser

Federal Communications Law Journal

Symposium: The Crisis in Public Safety Communications. Held at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, December 8, 2006.

To change the culture and realities of public safety communications, this Article calls on policymakers to develop a new architecture for the use of information and communications technologies and provide a framework for leadership to transition to a next generation system for public safety communications. Such a culture change would include not only an embrace of new technologies, but a new framework for technology leadership--at the state or regional level-that spurs decision making in a coordinated fashion (and not through ad …