Cecily Zamora
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is responsible for regulating broadcast radio and television in the United States. The FCC was created by Congress in the Communications Act to regulate interstate and foreign commerce in wire and radio communication. The FCC's rules and policies are outlined on its website, www.fcc.gov, and cover areas such as licensing of TV and radio stations, commercial and noncommercial stations, and broadcast programming. US law prohibits the airing of advertising for cigarettes and other tobacco products on radio, TV, or any other medium of electronic communication under the FCC's jurisdiction. The FCC also requires programming delivered to most mobile devices to be closed-captioned. While the FCC does not regulate the delivery of audio or video services to mobile devices, US copyright laws apply.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Federal government's role in licensing radio broadcasting | The federal government has been administering a system for licensing radio broadcasting since 1912 |
| First Amendment interests | The government may regulate content being broadcast on licensed stations to protect the interests of viewers and listeners |
| Prohibited advertising | Advertising for cigarettes, little cigars, smokeless tobacco, and chewing tobacco on radio, TV, or any other medium of electronic communication under the FCC's jurisdiction is prohibited |
| Captioning rules | Networks are required by law to caption almost all programming, and cable providers must ensure those captions reach viewers' televisions |
| FCC's regulatory authority | The FCC was created by Congress in the Communications Act to regulate interstate and foreign commerce in communication by wire and radio |
| FCC's role in ownership rules | The FCC eliminated several ownership rules in 2017, including those prohibiting cross-ownership of broadcast and radio stations within a local market |
| Tax laws and advertising | Advertising is treated as an ordinary and necessary business expense under the U.S. tax code, and some in Congress have suggested changing this for specific products |
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What You'll Learn
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
The FCC regulates interstate and international communications through cable, radio, television, satellite, and wire. It is directed by five commissioners appointed by the US President and confirmed by the Senate for five-year terms. The FCC's regulatory authority covers the licensing of TV and radio stations, commercial and non-commercial educational stations, applications to build new stations, and licence renewals.
The FCC's rules and policies are outlined on its website, www.fcc.gov, and include prohibitions on certain types of advertising, such as tobacco products, and regulations on programming content, such as requiring close-captioning on mobile devices. The FCC does not regulate the delivery of audio or video services to mobile devices, although US copyright laws apply.
In recent years, the FCC has eliminated several ownership rules, including prohibitions on cross-ownership of broadcast and radio stations within local markets, and relaxed limitations on ownership of multiple television stations in a single market. These changes have been upheld by the US Supreme Court.
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US copyright laws
US copyright law is contained in chapters 1 through 8 and 10 through 12 of Title 17 of the United States Code. The Copyright Act of 1976, enacted on October 19, 1976, provides the basic framework for current copyright law.
Copyright is the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of something. The US Copyright Act protects the writings of authors and has been expanded to include architectural design, software, graphic arts, motion pictures, and sound recordings. All works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Copyright Act, regardless of whether the work was created or published before or after the Act.
Under the Act, copyright protection exists for original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression. Copyright protection does not extend to ideas, procedures, processes, systems, methods of operation, concepts, principles, or discoveries. For example, if a book is written about a new system of bookkeeping, copyright protection extends only to the author's description of the system, not the system itself. To qualify for copyright protection, a work must exhibit a minimum degree of creativity and be independently created by the author.
The exclusive rights of the copyright owner are subject to limitation by the doctrine of "fair use." Fair use of a copyrighted work for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research is not copyright infringement. For example, using short excerpts of a copyrighted work for review or news reporting purposes would likely fall under fair use.
The US government has administered a system for licensing radio broadcasting since 1912. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates broadcast radio and television, including the licensing of TV and radio stations. The FCC was created by Congress in the Communications Act to regulate interstate and foreign commerce in wire and radio communication services. The Act prohibits foreign ownership of broadcast licensees, with limitations on direct and indirect foreign ownership percentages.
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Tobacco advertising restrictions
Federal law in the US prohibits the airing of advertising for cigarettes, little cigars, smokeless tobacco, and chewing tobacco on radio, TV, or any other medium of electronic communication under the FCC's jurisdiction. The FCC was created by Congress in the Communications Act to regulate interstate and foreign commerce in wire and radio communications. The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act also gave states and local governments the power to enact certain restrictions on tobacco advertising.
There are several restrictions on the content and nature of tobacco advertising. For example, manufacturers, retailers, and distributors are prohibited from sponsoring or causing to be sponsored any athletic, musical, artistic, or other social or cultural events in the brand name, logo, symbol, motto, selling message, or any other product identification of tobacco products. Tobacco advertising must also include warning statements, which must appear in the upper portion of the advertisement, occupy at least 20% of the area, be printed in at least 12-point font size, and be printed in bold, sans serif fonts with clear contrast.
Some states and local governments have implemented further restrictions on tobacco advertising. For instance, the State of New York has prohibited the display of exterior tobacco advertisements within 1500 feet of schools (500 feet within New York City). Similarly, Colorado prohibits retailers from advertising e-cigarette products in a manner that is visible from outside. In Bamberg County, South Carolina, the Tri-County Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (TCCADA) has limited the amount of advertising on the exterior of stores to 25% of the wall area.
It is important to note that regulations on tobacco advertising and promotions are advanced policies and may face legal challenges, particularly related to the commercial speech clause of the First Amendment and the commerce clause. The Supreme Court has also recognized that broadcast is unique among media due to the scarcity of the electromagnetic spectrum, justifying government involvement in allocating frequencies and mitigating interference.
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First Amendment rights
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment prevents Congress from making laws that establish a national religion, prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, or the right to petition the government for redress of grievances.
The First Amendment guarantees the right to speak openly about violent action and revolution, except where such speech is likely to incite imminent lawless action. This right has been extended to media including newspapers, books, plays, movies, and video games. The Supreme Court has consistently refused to interpret the First Amendment as providing greater protection to the institutional media than to other speakers. For instance, in Branzburg v. Hayes, the Court described the First Amendment right as "a fundamental personal right" that is not confined to newspapers and periodicals, but also includes pamphlets and leaflets.
The First Amendment also applies to broadcast media, including television and radio. In Columbia Broad. Sys., Inc. v. Democratic Nat’l Comm., the Court concluded that "TV and radio stand in the same protected position under the First Amendment as do newspapers and magazines". However, the federal government has been involved in regulating the content of licensed broadcast stations due to the scarcity of the electromagnetic spectrum. In Red Lion, the Court upheld the government's ability to deny a broadcast license or require a licensee to act in the public interest when selecting content. This power was understood as necessary to effect the First Amendment interests of "viewers and listeners", whose rights were considered to outweigh those of broadcasters.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), created by Congress in the Communications Act, regulates interstate and foreign commerce in wire and radio communications. The FCC has rules and policies regarding the licensing of TV and radio stations, ownership restrictions, and the content of broadcasts. For example, federal law prohibits the airing of tobacco advertising on TV, radio, or any other medium under the FCC's jurisdiction. The FCC also requires programming delivered to mobile devices to be closed-captioned.
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Captioning rules
Closed captioning laws for television and movies were established to make media accessible to viewers with hearing loss. These laws are critical for the 466 million people worldwide who are deaf or hard of hearing. In the United States, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 established closed captioning requirements for video programming distributors, including television broadcast stations and multichannel video programming distributors such as cable, satellite, and other television service providers.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established rules and a schedule for increasing the amount of required captioning over an eight-year period. As of January 1, 2006, 100% of all new, non-exempt, English-language video programming must be closed-captioned. The FCC rules for television closed captioning ensure that viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing have full access to programming. These rules apply to all television programming with captions and set standards for caption accuracy, quality, and synchronicity.
Caption accuracy requires that captions include all spoken words in the order they are spoken, with proper spelling, spacing, capitalization, and punctuation. Captions must also convey background noises and other non-verbal sounds to the extent possible. Caption synchronicity dictates that captions must coincide with their corresponding spoken words and sounds as closely as possible. While the FCC provides stringent guidelines, there is some leniency for live captions, allowing for a slight delay in their delivery.
There are two categories of exemptions from closed captioning rules: self-implementing and economically burdensome. Self-implementing exemptions include public service announcements shorter than 10 minutes, programming shown between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., and programming that is primarily textual. The FCC has established procedures for petitioning for an exemption on economic grounds when compliance would be financially challenging.
If individuals experience closed captioning problems, they can contact their Video Programming Distributor (VPD) to report the issue and request a resolution. If the VPD does not respond within 30 days or a dispute remains, individuals can escalate the matter by filing a written complaint with the FCC within 60 days of the captioning problem. These procedures ensure that viewers can actively seek solutions and hold broadcasters accountable for providing accurate and accessible closed captioning.
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Frequently asked questions
The Red Lion case is about the US federal government's ability to regulate the content being broadcast on licensed stations. The Court reasoned that the government may require a licensee to act in the "public interest" when selecting content to be broadcast.
The Communications Act is a US law that created the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate interstate and foreign commerce in wire and radio communication. The FCC's purpose is to make available a rapid, efficient, nationwide, and worldwide wire and radio communications service without discrimination based on race, colour, religion, national origin, or sex.
The FCC regulates the licensing of TV and radio stations, commercial and non-commercial educational stations, and applications to build new stations or renew licenses. It also prohibits the airing of advertising for cigarettes and other tobacco products on radio, TV, or any other medium of electronic communication under its jurisdiction.
