FCC filed appeal with U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., asking for rehear...
FCC filed appeal with U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., asking for rehearing or en banc rehearing of court’s decision in Fox TV Stations case involving biennial review of broadcast ownership rules. Commission said court’s finding that regulation should be retained…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
only if it were necessary, “not merely consonant, with the public interest” would require higher standard to retain existing rule than to adopt it in first instance. That “imposes a substantial and continuing burden on the agency that threatens administrative paralysis,” Commission wrote in 34-page filing. However, it said court’s discussion of public interest wasn’t essential to its ultimate decision to remand TV rule and vacate cable ownership rules. Commission said it was apparent court would have reached same decision without “public interest” language, so FCC said it wasn’t seeking rehearing on either of those decisions. Instead, it’s asking court to reconsider only its decision on biennial review. Court had eliminated FCC rule that banned cross-ownership of TV station and cable system in same market. It also remanded to Commission rule that banned TV station owner from reaching more than 35% of TV households in country. In both instances, court determined FCC couldn’t justify its ownership caps and numbers it chose were arbitrary. Telecom Act requires FCC to review existing regulations every 2 years to determine whether they remain necessary. FCC Chmn. Powell said earlier that court’s decision could change burden of proof agency used in determining whether rules should be kept or eliminated in reviews (CD Feb 21 p1). Until now, agency has seen its burden as proving why it wants to eliminate particular regulation, he said. Court’s ruling could change that around and require FCC instead to prove why rules should be kept, he said.