Architectural Censorship and the FCC

Abstract:     
Most First Amendment analyses of U.S. media policy have focused predominantly on behavioral regulation, which either prohibits the transmission of disfavored content (such as indecent programming) or mandates the dissemination of preferred content (such as children's educational programming and political speech). In so doing, commentators have largely overlooked how program content is also affected by structural regulation, which focuses primarily on increasing the economic competitiveness of the media industries. In this symposium contribution, Professor Christopher Yoo employs economic analysis to demonstrate how structural regulation represents a form of architectural censorship that has the unintended consequence of reducing the quantity, quality, and diversity of media content. The specific examples analyzed include: (1) efforts to foster and preserve free television and radio, (2) rate regulation of cable television, (3) horizontal restrictions on the number of outlets one entity can own in a local market, and (4) regulations limiting vertical integration in television and radio. Unfortunately, current First Amendment doctrine effectively immunizes architectural censorship from meaningful constitutional scrutiny. As a result, Congress and the FCC must bear the primary responsibility for safeguarding free speech values against these dangers.

Keywords: Telecommunications and Regulated Industries, antitrust, constitutional law

JEL Classifications: K21, L96

Accepted Paper Series