Communications Act of 1934
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The Communications Act of 1934 is a federal law that aims "to provide for the regulation of interstate and foreign communication by wire or radio, and for other purposes." The Act established regulations for the communications industry, including radio, telephone, and telegraph communications. The Act also created the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), an independent federal agency tasked with overseeing and regulating the communications industry. Since its enactment, the Act has been updated to reflect the development of new technologies, such as television and the internet. The law has also been amended to address issues concerning civil liberties and national security. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) signed the legislation into law on June 19, 1934.[1][2][3]
Background
Early legislation
The first legislation approved by Congress to regulate radio communications was the Radio Act of 1912. The Act aimed to minimize the growth in radio interference between U.S. Navy ships, private companies, and amateur radio operators at the time. In addition to specific requirements for naval radio operators, the Act required that all radio operators obtain a license from the U.S. Department of Commerce. Radio communications developed rapidly during World War I—leading to the broadcast radio station boom of the early 1920s and, later, a federal lawsuit challenging the Department of Commerce's authority to regulate radio transmissions. The legal challenge was upheld and the Department of Commerce ceased its attempts to regulate radio operations in July 1926, creating widespread interference among radio operators until Congress passed new legislation in February 1927.[4][5]
The Radio Act of 1927, which aimed to minimize interference in radio communications through regulation, created the Federal Radio Commission (FRC) and tasked the new agency with approving radio broadcasting licenses and assigning associated frequencies and power levels. However, the legislation contained structural flaws that soon became apparent. Though the Act prohibited licensees from broadcasting "obscene, indecent, or profane language" in radio programming, the FRC was not granted any censorship authority. Moreover, industry regulation was split between the FRC, the Department of Commerce, and the Interstate Commerce Commission, among other agencies. Public opinion shifted at the time in favor of a central authority to effectively regulate the growing communications sector while states sought clarification regarding the scope and limitations of the federal government's regulatory authority.[2][4][6][7]
Communications Act of 1934
President Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) signed the Communications Act of 1934 into law on June 19, 1934. The legislation consolidated the regulation of both wired and wireless communications, including radio, telegraph, and telephone communications, under the newly-created Federal Communications Commission (FCC), an independent federal agency that centralized the former regulatory and oversight duties that had previously been split between the FRC and other agencies. The agency was broadly tasked with regulating radio, telephone, and telegraph communications and primarily worked to issue and renew operator licenses. The legislation also authorized the FCC to penalize the broadcast of what the law describes as obscene, indecent, or profane content. The original legislation was divided into six sections, or titles, that implemented general provisions, regulations, penalties, and procedural matters. Click here for more information about the provisions of the Act.[2][6][8]
Legislative updates
Since its enactment, the Act has been periodically updated to reflect the development of new technologies, such as television and the internet, to protect privacy and civil liberties, to address national security issues, and to provide accommodations for individuals with disabilities. Click here for more information about amendments to the Act.[6]
Provisions
The original Communications Act of 1934 was divided into six sections, or titles. As amended, the legislation includes the following seven titles:[6]
Title I: Federal Communications Commission; general provisions
Title I of the Act puts forth definitions for communications entities, establishes the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as a central agency to regulate and oversee industry activities, and provides for the development of new technologies:
| “ | SEC. 7. [47 U.S.C. 157] NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND SERVICES.
(a) It shall be the policy of the United States to encourage the provision of new technologies and services to the public. Any person or party (other than the Commission) who opposes a new technology or service proposed to be permitted under this Act shall have the burden to demonstrate that such proposal is inconsistent with the public interest. |
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Title II: Common carrier regulation
Title II details provisions, including fee schedules, pertaining to common carriers in order to establish equal public access to communications networks:
| “ | SEC. 201. [47 U.S.C. 201] SERVICE AND CHARGES.
(a) It shall be the duty of every common carrier engaged in interstate or foreign communication by wire or radio to furnish such communication service upon reasonable request therefor; and, in accordance with the orders of the Commission, in cases where the Commission, after opportunity for hearing, finds such action necessary or desirable in the public interest, to establish physical connections with other carriers, to establish through routes and charges applicable thereto and the divisions of such charges, and to establish and provide facilities and regulations for operating such through routes.[9][10] |
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Title III: Radio operations
Title III of the Act puts forth specific provisions related to radio operations, including the issuance of licenses to radio operators:
| “ | SEC. 307. [47 U.S.C. 307] ALLOCATION OF FACILITIES; TERM OF LICENSES.
(a) The Commission, if public convenience, interest, or necessity will be served thereby, subject to the limitations of this Act, shall grant to any applicant therefor a station license provided for by this Act. |
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Title IV: Administrative and procedural provisions
Title IV outlines procedural matters for FCC orders, inquiries, investigations, and adjudication proceedings, among other provisions:
| “ | SEC. 416. [47 U.S.C. 416] PROVISIONS RELATING TO ORDERS.
(a) Every order of the Commission shall be forthwith served upon the designated agent of the carrier in the city of Washington or in such other manner as may be provided by law. |
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Title V: Penal provisions and fines
Title V institutes penalties and fines for violating provisions of the Act:
| “ | SEC. 501. [47 U.S.C. 501] GENERAL PENALTY.
Any person who willfully and knowingly does or causes or suffers to be done any act, matter, or thing, in this Act prohibited or declared to be unlawful, or who willfully and knowingly omits or fails to do any act, matter, or thing in this Act required to be done, or willfully and knowingly causes or suffers such omission or failure, shall upon conviction thereof, be punished for such offense, for which no penalty (other than a forfeiture) is provided in this Act, by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or both; except that any person, having been once convicted of an offense punishable under this section, who is subsequently convicted of violating any provision of this Act punishable under this section, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 Communications Act of 1934 or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both.[9][10] |
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Title VI: Cable communications
Added by the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, Title VI establishes guidelines and provisions for cable television services:
| “ | SEC. 601. [47 U.S.C. 521] PURPOSES.
The purposes of this title are to-- |
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Title VII: Miscellaneous provisions
The final title of the Act outlines miscellaneous provisions related to the FCC, such as the transfer of power and duties. The title also sets forth provisions related to unauthorized communications, accommodations for Americans with disabilities, program syndication, and the president's authority to prioritize the transmission of military communications over other public communications during times of war:
| “ | SEC. 706. [47 U.S.C. 606] WAR EMERGENCY--POWERS OF
PRESIDENT. (a) During the continuance of a war in which the United States is engaged, the President is authorized, if he finds it necessary for the national defense and security, to direct that such communications as in his judgment may be essential to the national defense and security shall have preference or priority with any carrier subject to this Act. He may give these directions at and for such times as he may determine, and may modify, change, suspend, or annul them and for any such purpose he is hereby authorized to issue orders directly, or through such person or persons as he designates for the purpose, or through the Commission. Any carrier complying with any such order or direction or preference or priority herein authorized shall be exempt from any and all provisions in existing law imposing civil or criminal penalties, obligations, or liabilities upon carriers by reason of giving preference or priority in compliance with such order or direction.[9][10] |
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Amending statutes
Below is a partial list of subsequent laws that amended provisions of the Communications Act of 1934:[1][6]
- The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 amended the Communications Act to create the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a nonprofit corporation tasked with developing educational programming.[11]
- The Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 amended the Communications Act to set national policy for the regulation of cable communications.[12]
- The Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 amended the Communications Act to require cable companies to broadcast local television stations.[13]
- The Telecommunications Act of 1996 is billed by the FCC as "the first major overhaul of telecommunications law in almost 62 years." The law aimed to increase competition among telecommunications providers by amending the Communications Act to remove the cap on radio ownership and deregulate the cable industry, among other provisions.[14][15]
- The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) of 1994, which was expanded in 2005, amended the Communications Act to include provisions addressing the wiretapping of communications services by law enforcement.[16]
- The USA Patriot Act of 2001 included provisions that amended the Communications Act to allow law enforcement to access certain communications for national security purposes.[17]
Impact
Net neutrality
Regulation of the internet under the Act has been at the forefront of policy debates concerning net neutrality. The Act originally classified the internet as an information service under Title I, but the FCC's 2015 Open Internet Order reclassified internet service providers (ISPs) as common carriers under Title II, with certain exceptions. As common carriers, ISPs were prohibited from blocking or slowing web traffic or providing paid internet fast lanes—a practice known as net neutrality. The FCC voted to repeal the net neutrality rules in December 2017 and return to what the agency described as the "light touch regulatory scheme" that existed prior to the 2015 order, but stipulated that ISPs must disclose their practices. Any anti-competitive behavior is subject to investigation by the FCC and the Federal Trade Commission under the new rules, which were published in the Federal Register on February 22, 2018, with an effective date of April 23, 2018. For more information about net neutrality, click here.[6][18][19]
See also
- Oregon Net Neutrality Initiative (2018)
- Federal Communications Commission
- Freedom of Information Act
- United States Code
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 U.S. Department of Justice, "The Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. § 151 et seq.," accessed February 19, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Living New Deal, "COMMUNICATIONS ACT (1934)," accessed February 19, 2018
- ↑ Federal Communications Commission, "COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934," accessed February 26, 2018
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Brotman, Stuart N. (2006). Communications Law and Practice. New York, N.Y.: Law Journal Press. (pages 1-5 - 1-8)
- ↑ Brookings, "Revisiting the broadcast public interest standard in communications law and regulation," March 23, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Museum of Broadcast Communications," "U.S. POLICY: THE COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934," accessed February 19, 2018
- ↑ U.S. Legal.com, "Radio Act of 1927 Law and Legal Definition," accessed February 19, 2018
- ↑ Federal Communications Commission, "Obscene, Indecent and Profane Broadcasts," accessed February 22, 2018
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 Federal Communications Commission, "COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934," accessed February 21, 2018
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Corporation for Public Broadcasting, "Public Broadcasting Act of 1967," accessed February 21, 2018
- ↑ GovTrack, "S. 66 (98th): Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984," accessed February 21, 2018
- ↑ GovTrack, "S. 12 (102nd): Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992," accessed February 21, 2018
- ↑ Federal Communications Commission, "Telecommunications Act of 1996," accessed February 21, 2018
- ↑ The Hill, "Bill Clinton’s telecom law: Twenty years later," February 7, 2016
- ↑ Electronic Frontier Foundation, "CALEA," accessed February 21, 2018
- ↑ Electronic Privacy Information Center, "USA Patriot Act," accessed February 21, 2018
- ↑ The Daily Dot, "Title II is the key to net neutrality—so what is it?" December 13, 2017
- ↑ Federal Register, "Restoring Internet Freedom," accessed February 22, 2018
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