Court Decision Could Leave Some FCC Proposals 'on Shaky Ground': Lawyer
The appellate court decision that the FCC's 2024 equal employment opportunity data collection requirement for broadcasters was outside the agency's statutory authority (see 2505190044) makes some proposed FCC actions "inherently suspect," Wilkinson Barker broadcast lawyer David Oxenford wrote Wednesday. The…
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proposed rules regarding the use of AI-generated content in political advertising (see 2407250046) also relied heavily on the agency's supposed public interest authority, Oxenford said. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has talked about holding broadcasters liable for not meeting some public interest standard, and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision could suggest that standard doesn't give the FCC authority to establish broadcast codes of conduct, except in areas specifically enumerated by statute, he said. "In light of this decision, there will no doubt be much evaluation of the text of the FCC’s statutory authority to see what rules and what proposals may be on shaky ground."