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Generally, free speech is NOT absolute,. Reasonable restrictions on "time, place, and manner" are generally upheld by the Supreme Court. They are not fined beca
by freeone3000 9y ago
Generally, free speech is NOT absolute,. Reasonable restrictions on "time, place, and manner" are generally upheld by the Supreme Court. They are not fined because they aired an ad for the Cancer Center, they are fined because they aired an ad for the Cancer Center that pretended to be a news segment. This is a manner restriction, and generally fine.
The specific statutes allowing the FCC to govern broadcasters and fine them in this manner is the Communications Act of 1934 and the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
- loeg 9y agoVery, very few restrictions are actually upheld. See in particular "Trope 3: 'Not all speech is protected.'"[0] [0]: https://www.popehat.com/2015/05/19/how-to-spot-and-critique-censorship-tropes-in-the-medias-coverage-of-free-speech-controversies/ https://www.popehat.com/2015/05/19/how-to-spot-and-critique-...
- 0xcde4c3db 9y agoThat post is almost entirely about a debate over viewpoint-based regulation. Regulations that are viewpoint-neutral, especially when it comes to commercial speech and broadcast radio/TV stations (and especially the combination of the two), are generally on much stronger 1A footing.