Michael Powell: No FCC censorship of satellite radio [fs]

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

[Of course it's hardly clear that the FCC has the statutory authority to 
impose "indecency" restrictions on satellite radio if it wanted to, and 
constitutional hurdles are another reason for Powell to say this. But 
it's still good that he did. More broadly, the existence of two 
different regulatory regimes does cause an imbalance, and all else being 
equal, a competitive advance for satellite radio. If the imbalance ever 
corrects itself, I hope it'll be in the less-regulated direction rather 
than the Pacification of satellite. --Declan]

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http://news.com.com/FCC+chief+buoys+VoIP%2C+satellite+radio/2100-7353_3-5515823.html?tag=nefd.top

FCC chief buoys VoIP, satellite radio
Published: January 6, 2005, 3:09 PM PST
By David Becker
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

LAS VEGAS--Michael Powell had a rare bit of good news Thursday for shock 
jock Howard Stern, saying the government had no interest in censoring 
satellite radio... "I think it's a dangerous thing to start talking 
about extending government oversight of content to other media just to 
level the playing field," Powell said. [...] Broadcast radio operators 
have made several unsuccessful attempts to restrict satellite radio 
content. But Powell said the merging of media formats and the Internet 
and changing attitudes favor minimal oversight. [...]
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