The FCC and your Rights

Despite being in the news almost daily, there is a significant lack in knowledge as to what the FCC is responsible for. The Federal Communications Commission is an independent United States government agency, directly responsible to Congress. The FCC was established by the Communications Act of 1934 and is charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. The FCC's jurisdiction covers the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. possessions. There is a growing controversy as to what the FCC should be responsible for. The first amendment “guarantees” the right to free speech to all citizens. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference. If this is true, why is the media regulated by the government? Should American citizens have the right to view unfiltered media? This is more of an argument than a research paper, an argument worth fighting over. Our rights are taken away almost daily and no one seems to bat an eye at that fact. The FCC has gotten to the point where they are starting to regulate satellite, subscription radio, such as Sirius and XM Radio. Sirius’s newest bad boy of comedy, Howard Stern, has gotten many fines from the FCC for what they would call “inappropriate conduct” while on cable television. This would include profanity, sexual references, and topics of racism. Now, Howard Stern is on Sirius, a subscription-based radio service that boasts over 3.5 million subscribers. The FCC has sent countless threats to Howard Stern since his arrival to Sirius in January to clean up his act, but he is not unhurried by the threats, and why should he be? Sirius is a subscription service. Its consumers are paying for unfiltered radio and it is clearly stated in the fine print on Sirius’s Terms of Service that profanity and sexual references will occur, so why does the FCC feel that they need to filter the radio DJs and music? This is only one example of filtering that the FCC committed to. The list goes on, from CNN, to MSNNBC. Many internet WebPages are watched by the FCC. Even though the internet technically does not belong to the United States government, the commission feels it has the right to threaten web sites they find offensive with lawsuits. It is only a matter of years before the internet is taxed and the FCC has full right to edit the internet. It could happen. Consider it and fight against it

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first major overhaul of United States telecommunications policy in nearly 62 years, modifying earlier legislation, primarily the Communications Act of 1934, which was the original bill that spawned the FCC, only it just regulated radio. It was approved by the 104th Congress on January 3, 1996. It was signed into law by United States President Bill Clinton on February 8, 1996. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 expanded the FCC’s control to Satellite Television, Cellular phones, and cable television. The FCC is directed by five Commissioners appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for 5-year terms, except when filling an unexpired term. The President designates one of the Commissioners to serve as Chairperson. This means that the President could potentially erect “cronyism” and appoint officials that share his way of thinking. The topics that were safe to talk about in 2004 may change in 2009.

There is a loss of rights with the filtering of media. While the FCC believes you “can’t miss what you never saw” when it comes to the Iraq War and Western politics, citizens should fight for their rights to view unfiltered media. As the government gains more control with the Patriot Act – a bill that allows unwarranted advances on “chatter” within the internet and cellular phone calls – it is only a matter of time before other sources of media, such as internet blogs, pornographic webpages, newsites, and political bashing Web Pages could be filtered. The government plans on taxing the internet when they start providing broadband freely to everyone who needs it. It is a win/win situation for the government, because not only do they benefit from a “web tax”, but also from the ability to regulate the internet and what people view, since you would be accessing it with governmental property. Fight for your rights.