Communications Law Commons^™

Revisiting The Vast Wasteland, Newton N. Minow, Fred H. Cate

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Avoiding Slim Reasoning And Shady Results: A Proposal For Indecency And Obscenity Regulation In Radio And Broadcast Television, Jacob T. Rigney

Federal Communications Law Journal

This Note explores the relevant law regarding the issue of indecency and obscenity in broadcast, with particular focus on a 2001 Policy Statement released by the FCC. The Author examines the major problems with the regulatory scheme as it now exists, and offers an alternative. The Author concludes by arguing that leaving the subjective decisions regarding indecency to market forces, leaving parents to determine what should or should not be indecent, and leaving the FCC free to pursue obscenity with greater zeal is the most appropriate course of action for the future.

Attacking Brandenburg With History: Does The Long-Term Harm Of Biased Speech Justify A Criminal Statute Suppressing It?, Anuj C. Desai

Federal Communications Law Journal

Book Review: Destructive Messages: How Hate Speech Paves the Way for Harmful Social Movements, Alexander Tsesis, New York: New York University Press, 2002, 246 pages.

A review of Alexander Tsesis's Destructive Messages: How Hate Speech Paves the Way for Harmful Social Movements, New York University Press, 2002. At one level, Alexander Tsesis's thesis is simply one in a long line of arguments about the need to regulate racist speech. Yet on another level, it is fundamentally different from much American literature on "hate speech" because Tsesis draws on a broad historical swath, and because he contends that the United States …

Queers Anonymous: Lesbians, Gay Men, Free Speech, And Cyberspace, Edward D. Stein

Articles

The expansion of cyberspace in the past decade has created unprecedented opportunities for communication, both across the globe and across the street. The Internet and other forms of cyberspace have provided new avenues for anonymous and pseudonymous communication. Individuals can now interact without the traditional constraints of time, place, and manner of communication.

The U.S. Supreme Court Addresses The Child Pornography Prevention Act And Child Online Protection Act In Ashcroft V. Free Speech Coalition And Ashcroft V. American Civil Liberties Union, Sue Ann Mota

Federal Communications Law Journal

Both the Child Pornography Prevention Act ("CPPA") and the Child Online Protection Act ("COPA") were intended by Congress to protect minors. The CPPA was intended to protect minors from the harmful effects of virtual child pornography. The COPA was intended to protect minors from pornography currently available commercially on the World Wide Web. However, in 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the constitutionality of both statutes: The Court struck down sections of the CPPA as overbroad and unconstitutional in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition. In Ashcroft v. ACLU, the Court upheld some sections of COPA as not unconstitutionally overbroad, but …

Injunctive Relief In The Internet Age: The Battle Between Free Speech And Trade Secrets, Adam W. Johnson

Federal Communications Law Journal

The information revolution has led to technological innovations in the movement, storage, and dissemination of information. The Internet allows a person, with good or bad intent, to distribute information to millions of people. This ability raises serious implications when trade secret information is the subject of Internet postings. Once a trade secret becomes publicly available, it loses its legal secrecy, and special legal protection. Additionally, competitors and everyone else on the Internet can gain access to the information. For those who rely on trade secret protection to guard their inventions, this presents a growing concern.

This Note will illustrate the …

The Indecency Of Unsolicited Sexually Explicit Email: A Comment On The Protection Of Free Speech V. The Protection Of Children, Monique Redford

Seattle University Law Review

Because the state of Washington has a compelling interest in protecting the moral and psychological welfare of its children, the current spam law should be amended to also proscribe the transmission of unsolicited sexually explicit commercial email within its borders. This article argues that such an amendment would not violate either the dormant Commerce Clause or the First Amendment. In support of this thesis, section II first addresses the pervasive problem of children-not just adults-receiving sexually explicit material via unsolicited email. Then, sections III through V discuss the implications of the dormant Commerce Clause, the First Amendment, and the policy …

Law And Information Platforms, Philip J. Weiser

Publications

No abstract provided.

Use Of Public Record Databases In Newspaper And Television Newsrooms, Brooke Barnett

Federal Communications Law Journal

After almost fifty years of unprecedented freedom, access to public records is under threat today at the state and federal level. Survey research and in-depth interviews of newspaper and television journalists show that public records are being obtained through several mechanisms, including databases. This Comment, together with its underlying study, illustrates that these databases are essential to developing certain stories, including some covering the most critical subjects: investigative reports, crime, and political stories. Therefore, this Comment argues, restricting access to public records has the potential to halt or substantially hinder the media’s ability to serve as a check on business …

Rewriting Near V. Minnesota: Creating A Complete Definition Of Prior Restraint, Michael I. Meyerson

All Faculty Scholarship

The decision in Near v. Minnesota, while establishing the prior restraint doctrine as a critical element for First Amendment analysis, failed to give a definition of prior restraint. The result has been inconsistent and unpredictable application of the doctrine as well as diminished protection of free expression. This article takes the next critical step in the journey begun by Near v. Minnesota; it attempts to create a comprehensive definition of prior restraint using the principles of separation of powers. Because all three branches can create 'prior restraints,' the prevention of unconstitutional restraints will necessitate different safeguards depending on which branch …

Filth, Filtering, And The First Amendment: Ruminations On Public Libraries’ Use Of Internet Filtering Software, Bernard W. Bell

Federal Communications Law Journal

Traditionally, whenever the government has sought to regulate speech, analysis of its action focused on conventional issues, such as the type of forum involved, whether the government acted in a regulatory or a proprietary role, and whether the regulation could be defined as a prior restraint. With the advent of the Internet and the opportunity for the widespread dissemination of viewpoints, however, new issues have arisen. This Article focuses on the complex questions public libraries face when filtering material, usually of a sexually explicit nature, from the public using filtering software. This Article contends that public libraries require a unique …

"Merchants Of Discontent": An Exploration Of The Psychology Of Advertising, Addiction, And The Implications For Commercial Speech, Tamara R. Piety

Seattle University Law Review

In this paper, I attempt to draw parallels between the psychology of commercial advertising and marketing and the psychology of addiction. Both appear to be characterized by denial, escapism, narcissism, isolation, insatiability, impatience, and diminished sensitivity. Advertising appeals to these impulses and addiction is marked by them. In what follows, I explore these parallels in general and then explore the potential consequences or side effects in three specific contexts: the advertising of addictive products, advertising and children, and advertising and women. In these three areas, there is some evidence that advertising may be contributing to negative social phenomena in a …

Open Access And The First Amendment: A Critique Of Comcast Cablevision Of Broward County, Inc. V. Broward County, David Wolitz

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

To what extent does the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment bar the adoption of “open access” regulations? Open access (or “net neutrality”) refers to a policy that would require broadband Internet providers, such as cable and phone companies, to allow competitive Internet Service Providers (ISPs) onto their broadband lines at nondiscriminatory rates. A federal district court in Florida recently held Broward County’s open access ordinance unconstitutional on the grounds that it would force speech – in the form of Internet content – on to the local cable company. If the district court’s analysis is correct, then open access …

Communications Media And The First Amendment: A Viewpoint-Neutral Fcc Is Not Too Much To Ask For, Helgi Walker

Federal Communications Law Journal

In the "new economy" driven by the telecommunications industry, the FCC is a busy agency. Given the myriad legal issues faced daily by agency decisionmakers and the lack of perfect clarity in major communications legislation, a few legal missteps here and there by the FCC might be expected. In one area, however, the public can and should demand a first-rate agency record: regulation of communications media without regard to the viewpoint expressed via that media, as the First Amendment requires. This Article offers two case studies in which the FCC arguably took viewpoint-discriminatory actions with regard to regulated broadcasters, and …

Cable Internet Unbundling: Local Leadership In The Deployment High Speed Access, Marcus Maher

Federal Communications Law Journal

With the pending merger of TCI and AT&T and their promise of "one-stop" television, Internet, and telephone service, the cable Internet issues move to the forefront. The desire of traditional Internet Service Providers to gain access to new high-speed technologies for Internet access led to requests for unbundling or open access to cable systems. Despite the heated debate on the need for unbundling that has occurred at the federal level, local authorities have taken the lead in requiring open access to cable for competing ISPs. General anticompetitive concerns with cable Internet dominated by the cable company could be alleviated in …

The Constitutionality Of The Driver’S Privacy Protection Act: A Fork In The Information Access Road, Angela R. Karras

Federal Communications Law Journal

The Driver's Privacy Protection Act, instituted in 1997, regulates the disclosure of personal information in motor vehicle records. New controversy surrounds it today as the U.S. Supreme Court evaluates the arguments presented in November 1999 regarding its constitutionality. A split among circuit courts, coupled with the tremendous growth in technology and subsequent new in-roads for information access, draw increased attention toward the Act. The concern for information access in light of the Act, however, reaches beyond the courts' elucidated concerns about dual sovereignty and the public's right to privacy. This Note argues that there is a forgotten argument: the Act's …

Betting On The Net: An Analysis Of The Government’S Role In Addressing Internet Gambling, Stevie A. Kish

Federal Communications Law Journal

The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act represents the U.S. Senate’s response to the development of a new online industry—Internet gambling. While this ban could arguably reduce the dangers associated with Internet gambling, such as fraud and addiction, it can only do so by exacting a substantial cost on principles of federalism. Rather than enacting this federal prohibition, Congress should instead leave the issue of whether Internet gambling should be legalized to the states.

Sobriety Test: The Court Walks The Central Hudson Line Once Again In 44 Liquormart, But Passes On A New First Amendment Review, Aaron A. Schmoll

Federal Communications Law Journal

In 1980 the Supreme Court decided Central Hudson and, in so doing, articulated the parameters of the modern commercial speech doctrine. In providing a four-part test to determine the validity of government efforts to restrict commercial speech, the Court engaged in "intermediate scrutiny" and created the expectation among free speech advocates that the Court was finally ready to provide higher measure of constitutional protection to commercial speech. In the nearly fifteen years after Central Hudson, these advocates have been disappointed as the Court has inconsistently weighed the factors that comprise the test. The opportunity to adopt a less- manipulative …

First Amendment Trump?: The Uncertain Constitutionalization Of Structural Regulation Separating Telephone And Video, Susan Dente Ross

Federal Communications Law Journal

The Cable Act of 1984 contained a "cross-ownership" ban, which prohibited telephone companies from entering the local cable video market. Although the ban was challenged by telephone carriers on numerous grounds, the First Amendment was not the basis of any challenge until the mid-1990s when telephone companies sought to characterize themselves not just as carriers but as content suppliers, or "speakers," who were deprived of their right to speak as a result of common carrier regulations that were intended merely to control the economic structure of the communications industry. Using the First Amendment as a new-found constitutional weapon to challenge …

In Search Of A Smoking Gun: Tortious Interference With Nondisclosure Agreements As An Obstacle To Newsgathering, Mark J. Chasteen

Federal Communications Law Journal

In November 1995, the prominent CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes refrained from broadcasting an important interview with a former vice president of Brown & Williamson for fear of being liable for tortiously interfering with a confidentiality agreement between the employee and the tobacco company. This event illustrates a new concern facing media: specifically whether liability arises from broadcasting information that would be considered protected speech had the source not been a party to a nondisclosure agreement. It also illustrates an area of First Amendment jurisprudence that is as yet uncharted and for which there is no established standard that is easily …

Content And Control Of Public Access Channels On Cable Television After Denver Area Educationaltelecommunications Consortium V. Fcc: The Non-Forum Forum, Jeffrey S. Hop

Media Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Communicative Freedom, Communicative Power, And Jurisgenesis, Klaus Günther

Cardozo Law Review

One of the doubts raised against discourse theory by many critics concerns the place of the individual. Liberals especially fear that the individual gets involved in a system of obligations which is derived from certain pragmatical presuppositions of communication and which forces the individual to participate in discourses whenever he or she pursues his or her own happiness in society. But Jacques Derrida too, who could scarcely be called a "liberal" in the traditional sense, characterizes those presuppositions of communication which entail an obligation for the speaker and the hearer as "violence." For these critics, it must now be a …

Commercial Exploitation Or Protected Use? Stern V. Delphi Internet Services Corporation And The Erosion Of The Right Of Publicity, Karin M. Mika, Aaron J. Reber

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This article addresses the repercussions of Stern v. Delphi Internet Services Corporation and argues that the decision in Stern opens the door to a broader interpretation of “newsworthiness” and “public interest” that will enable advertisers broader First Amendment protections when using “unauthorized” likenesses. This article posits that artful advertisers could very well use the theory of Stern as a basis for virtually ensuring that every “unauthorized likeness” will enjoy First Amendment protection and not be considered as violative of the right of publicity.

Federal Broadband Law, John Thorne, Michael K. Kellog, Peter W. Huber, Jeffrey A. Wolfson

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The authors of this book have brought together a vast and varied array of experience. Mr. Thorne is the Vice President & Associate General Counsel for Bell Atlantic; Mr. Huber is a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research; and Mr. Kellogg is a Partner at Kellogg, Huber, Hansen & Todd. A reader will find the occasional use of technical jargon, such as "domsats" (domestic satellites), "coax" (coaxial cable), and "syndex" rules (syndicated exclusivity rules to protect syndicated, non-network programming) to be somewhat confusing. "Telcos" and "cablecos" are telephone and cable companies, respectively. Overall, however, technical jargon is …

Telephone Companies, The First Amendment, And Technological Convergence, Fred H. Cate

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Once And Future Property-Based Vision Of The First Amendment, John O. Mcginnis

Articles

The growth of the information superhighway depends not only on technological developments, but also on our society's commitment to the free flow of information. Paradoxically, however, as the digital revolution in telecommunications is bringing the information superhighway into sharp focus, the justifications for contemporary First Amendment jurisprudence are becoming blurred.

People Do Read Large Ads: The Law Of Advertising From Outer Space, Don E. Tomlinson, Rob L. Wiley

Federal Communications Law Journal

Although many may not be aware of it; the .technological capability currently exists to launch large, billboard-type advertisements into outer space. These ads could be as large as a full moon, and last for an almost infinite duration. Reaction to the possibility of space advertising has been generally negative, with many expressing concerns about the aesthetic effect of floating space billboards. One recent example of this is the proposal to launch a billboard containing the five-ring Olympic symbol in connection with Atlanta's hosting the 1996 Olympics, which was rejected by Mayor Maynard Jackson as "environmental pollution." Despite the fact that …

The Sensitive Society, James F. Fitzpatrick

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Jefferson On The Internet, Nicholas Johnson

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A Law Antecedent And Paramount, Fred H. Cate

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.