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> Broadcasters are required by law to accept ads from political candidates on any topic, no matter how controversial it may be. > Congress shall make no law ..

> Broadcasters are required by law to accept ads from political candidates on any topic, no matter how controversial it may be. > Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press I think this law amounts to compulsory speech by the broadcaster, and SCOTUS should strike it under strict scrutiny.

lovecg 4y ago
Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC?
enragedcacti 4y ago
Broadcasters is a specific terminology referring to companies that broadcast on airwaves licensed from the federal government and have thus agreed to stipulations based on that license. If broadcasters weren't limited in that way, a private company would be leveraging federal government resources to selectively broadcast speech by some politicians but not others, which sounds like a freedom of speech issue that warrants concern as well in my book.
onedognight 4y ago
Broadcasters trade these rules for exclusive access to the radio spectrum. We all agree to not broadcast overtop them and they agree to equal access. The internet doesn’t play by these rules.
- hirundo 4y ago
  Since Hulu doesn't use scarce radio spectrum, I wonder how applying this restriction to them is rationalized.
  - enragedcacti 4y ago
    This isn't being applied by the FCC, its being implemented in a response to public and political feedback, presumably on the basis that Disney allows advertising on most of their other ad-supported platforms which have more conservative audiences. Axios didn't do a particularly good job of clarifying the relevance of information about broadcasters in their piece.
    - meragrin_ 4y ago
      > its being implemented in a response to public and political feedback Do you honestly believe that? I have little doubt it was more along the lines of cross-checking their ad revenue with the rest of Disney and saw Hulu was performing atrociously due to excluding political issue ads. This just happens to be a "good story" alternative to saying they want more money.
      - enragedcacti 4y ago
        Fair enough, I definitely wouldn't put it past Disney.

lovecg 4y ago

Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC?

enragedcacti 4y ago

Broadcasters is a specific terminology referring to companies that broadcast on airwaves licensed from the federal government and have thus agreed to stipulations based on that license. If broadcasters weren't limited in that way, a private company would be leveraging federal government resources to selectively broadcast speech by some politicians but not others, which sounds like a freedom of speech issue that warrants concern as well in my book.

onedognight 4y ago

Broadcasters trade these rules for exclusive access to the radio spectrum. We all agree to not broadcast overtop them and they agree to equal access. The internet doesn’t play by these rules.

hirundo 4y ago
Since Hulu doesn't use scarce radio spectrum, I wonder how applying this restriction to them is rationalized.
- enragedcacti 4y ago
  This isn't being applied by the FCC, its being implemented in a response to public and political feedback, presumably on the basis that Disney allows advertising on most of their other ad-supported platforms which have more conservative audiences. Axios didn't do a particularly good job of clarifying the relevance of information about broadcasters in their piece.
  - meragrin_ 4y ago
    > its being implemented in a response to public and political feedback Do you honestly believe that? I have little doubt it was more along the lines of cross-checking their ad revenue with the rest of Disney and saw Hulu was performing atrociously due to excluding political issue ads. This just happens to be a "good story" alternative to saying they want more money.
    - enragedcacti 4y ago
      Fair enough, I definitely wouldn't put it past Disney.