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more on House Passes Bill to Raise Indecency
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2005 05:59:52 -0500
[ note not all USG organiztions follow the laws as passed by the Congress djf] ------ Forwarded Message From: Gerry Faulhaber <gerry-faulhaber () mchsi com> Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2005 00:11:07 -0500 To: <dave () farber net> Subject: Re: [IP] more on House Passes Bill to Raise Indecency Dave [for IP, if you wish]-- The thread on this issue passes understanding. The Congressional indecency bill and the fines associated with it enjoy huge public support. Congress has directed the FCC to enforce the law; Powell really has no choice (as he made abundantly clear at the Silicon Flatirons conference and elsewhere). He is the cop; he doesn't make the laws, he simply enforces them and he doesn't get a choice as to what laws to enforce. Blaming Powell for indecency fines is like blaming the cop for giving you a speeding ticket based on your belief that the speed limit should have been higher. Not the cop's decision; he just enforces the law. Those who have been lambasting Powell for enforcing a law they don't like have missed the blindingly obvious: if you don't like the law, organize a political effort to get it changed. Or else challenge its constitutionality through an actual case. But if you aren't willing to do this, then quit whining about Powell doing the job he was hired to do. I know he isn't thrilled with this part of his job; but it is his job. Incidentally, Chris is correct (below) about "Red Lion"; anyone who knows the slightest thing about electronic speech and its regulation (even a business school professor;-) knows about Red Lion, not "red lining". Do your homework, guys. Professor Gerald R. Faulhaber Business and Public Policy Dept. Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania currently on leave @ Penn Law Philadelphia, PA 19104
----- Original Message ----- From: David Farber <mailto:dave () farber net> To: Ip <mailto:ip () v2 listbox com> Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2005 7:55 PM Subject: [IP] more on House Passes Bill to Raise Indecency ------ Forwarded Message From: Chris Savage <chris.savage () crblaw com> Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2005 19:21:16 -0500 To: <dave () farber net> Subject: RE: [IP] House Passes Bill to Raise Indecency From: owner-ip () v2 listbox com [mailto:owner-ip () v2 listbox com] On Behalf Of David Farber Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2005 7:14 PM To: Ip Subject: [IP] House Passes Bill to Raise Indecency ------ Forwarded Message From: Bob Frankston <Bob19-0501 () bobf frankston com> Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2005 18:48:10 -0500 To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net> Cc: David Isenberg <isen () isen com> Subject: House Passes Bill to Raise Indecency <snip>On one of the panels a speaker said that Supreme Court had "red lined"the principle that the FCC trumped the first amendment. I tried to look up the term but couldn't find a definition (I presume that all words are in legalese and not English). Is it similar to Black Letter Law -- something that is just assumed without there being a doubt?<<Bob, What Powell was talking about was a case from the 60s known as the ³Red Lion² case. (One of the parties was ³Red Lion Broadcasting²). That case basically held that the degree of 1st Amendment protection applicable to a given medium depended on the technical and other characteristics of the medium. Over-the-air broadcasting is traditionally subject to less 1st Amendment protection because of (a) its pervasiveness and (b) the supposedly limited amount of spectrum available, imposing greater ³public interest² obligations on those who hold it. We can (and probably should) debate the continuing validity of this line of cases, but I think Powell is correct that the ³law² of decency applicable to unencrypted, free, over-the-air broadcasting is different from that which applies to cable, or print, or the net, or whatever. Chris S. ************************************************************************ This electronic mail transmission may contain confidential or privileged information. If you believe that you have received the message in error, please notify the sender by reply transmission and delete the message without copying or disclosing it. ************************************************************************ ------ End of Forwarded Message You are subscribed as gerry-faulhaber () mchsi com To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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