Congress Should Eliminate the FCC’s Public Interest Authority
The FCC’s authority to regulate needs to reflect the modern realities of broadcasting.
Richard J. Pierce, Jr., a scholar from The George Washington University Law School, recently published an essay on the topic.
The U.S. Supreme Court needs to overrule its 1969 decision in Red Lion Broadcasting v. Federal Communications Commission.
In the 1969 decision, the Court upheld the constitutionality of the “fairness doctrine” adopted by the FCC, requiring broadcasters to cover issues of public importance in a balanced way.
The Court rejected the claim that government regulation of broadcast content infringed on broadcasters’ free speech rights under the First Amendment.
Author's summary: FCC regulation needs modernization.