Sen. Specter, Internet Advertising and Broadcast Obscenity
Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania announces his decision to change parties, increasing the Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate.
The Federal Trade Commission threatens Internet advertisers with further regulation.
The Supreme Court rules against Fox TV in a dispute over what qualifies as broadcast obscenity.
For more news, listen to the LibertyWeek podcast here.
1. POLITICS
Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania announces his decision to change parties, increasing the Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Editorial Director Ivan Osorio on why Specter’s vote is so important:
“There’s nothing worse for an economy than uncertainty. Today, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter has thrown large swathes of America’s struggling economy into a guessing game, with his announcement that he plans to switch parties from Republican to Democrat. While he has indicated that he would not switch his vote on cloture against the so-called Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), he will likely be under pressure from his new fellow Democrats and organized labor to switch that vote…However, Specter will also be under pressure from businesses in his state, and his stating now that he would maintain his opposition to EFCA could be intended to preempt pressure from his new pro-union allies.”
2. TECHNOLOGY
The Federal Trade Commission threatens Internet advertisers with further regulation.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Information Policy Analyst Ryan Radia on allowing people not to be private:
“Any new FTC mandates on data collection would almost certainly impose a privacy ceiling that would offer some, if not most, people too much privacy. This may sound impossible at first, but think of people who document their every move on Twitter, open for the world to see. Different people have wildly different privacy preferences, and there is no way a single set of rules-however well-conceived-could satisfy everyone.”
3. LEGAL
The Supreme Court rules against Fox TV in a dispute over what qualifies as broadcast obscenity.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Special Projects Counsel Hans Bader on the legal background of the case:
“The Federal Communications Commission is wasting time fining broadcasters for fleeting expletives under an indecency policy that is applied broader than the FCC’s own written regulations suggest (for example, the FCC treats buttocks as being a ‘sexual organ,’ contrary to the definition’s plain meaning). In a 5-to-4 decision today in FCC v. Fox Television Stations, the Supreme Court ruled that the FCC’s policy isn’t ‘arbitrary and capricious’ in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. It overturned a federal appeals court decision that voided massive fines imposed by the FCC against Fox. The Supreme Court refused to rule on the First Amendment issue that the federal appeals court earlier avoided, leaving that issue for it to address on remand.”
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