Congress Should Eliminate the FCC’s Public Interest Authority
The FCC’s authority to regulate needs to reflect the modern realities of broadcasting.
Reconsidering the Fairness Doctrine
Richard J. Pierce, Jr., a distinguished scholar from The George Washington University Law School, recently published an essay arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court should overrule its 1969 decision in Red Lion Broadcasting v. Federal Communications Commission.
The Court upheld the constitutionality of the “fairness doctrine” adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which required 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 of the U.S.
Conclusion
Author's summary: FCC regulation needs modernization.