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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent United States government agency, created, directed, and empowered by Congressional statute (see 47 U.S.C. § 151 and 47 U.S.C. § 154).

The FCC was established by the Communications Act of 1934 as the successor to the Federal Radio Commission and is charged with regulating all non-Federal Government use of the radio spectrum (including radio and television broadcasting), and all interstate telecommunications (wire, satellite and cable) as well as all international communications that originate or terminate in the United States. It is an important actor in US telecommunication policy. The FCC took over wire communication regulation from the Interstate Commerce Commission.

The FCC's jurisdiction covers the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. possessions.

Organization

The FCC is directed by five Commisioners appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for five-year terms, except when filling an unexpired term. The President designates one of the Commissioners to serve as Chairman. Only three Commissioners may be members of the same political party. None of them can have a financial interest in any Commission-related business.

As the chief executive officer of the Commission, the Chairman delegates management and administrative responsibility to the Managing Director. The Commissioners supervise all FCC activities, delegating responsibilities to staff units and Bureaus. The current FCC Chairman is Kevin Martin. The other current Commissioners are Deborah Taylor Tate, Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein, with one seat vacant.

Further changes are expected: On Feb 2, 2006, President Bush announced his intention to nominate Robert M. McDowell to fill the fifth, vacant seat on the Federal Communications Commission.

History

Communications Act of 1934

In 1934 Congress passed the Communications Act, which abolished the Federal Radio Commission and transferred jurisdiction over radio licensing to a new Federal Communications Commission. Title III of the Communications Act contained provisions very similar to the Radio Act of 1927, and the new FCC largely took over the operations and precedents of the FCC.

The FCC at its introduction

E. O. Sykes (MS), Chairman; Col. Thad Brown (OH); Irvin Stewart (TX); Paul A. Walker (OK); Norman S. Case (RI); George Henry Paine (NY); Hampson Gary (TX)

Report on Chain Broadcasting

In 1940 the Federal Communications Commission issued the "Report on Chain Broadcasting." The major point in the report was the breakup of NBC (See American Broadcasting Company), but there were two other important points. One was network option time, the culprit here being CBS. The report limited the amount of time during the day, and what times the networks may broadcast. Previously a network could demand any time it wanted from an affiliate. The second concerned artist bureaus. The networks served as both agents and employees of artists, which was a conflict of interest the report rectified.

Consolidation permissivity, indecency crackdowns

The inauguration of Ronald Reagan as President of the United States in 1981 marked the beginning of a shift in the FCC towards a decidedly more permissive stance. Monopoly regulations were relaxed so far as to be practically irrelevant, and remaining restrictions were laxly enforced. A substantial portion of other regulations were repealed, such as guidelines for minimal amounts of non-entertainment programming in 1985. In addition, the Fairness Doctrine was removed in 1987. This deregulation has led to the rapid rise in the channel selection offered by broadcast alternatives such as cable television. It has also led to greater concentration of media ownership.

In the early 2000s, the FCC began stepping up censorship and enforcement of so-called indecency regulations again, most notably following the Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" that occurred during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII. However, the FCC's regulatory domain with respect to indecency remains restricted to the public airwaves, notably VHF and UHF television and AM/FM radio.

Regulatory powers

The Federal Communications Commission has one major regulatory weapon, revoking licenses, but short of that has little leverage over broadcast stations (see FCC MB Docket 04-232). It is reluctant to do this since it operates in a near vacuum of information on most of the tens of thousands of stations whose licenses are renewed every eight years (previously, every three years). Broadcast licenses are supposed to be renewed if the station meets the "public interest, convenience, or necessity." The Federal Communications Commission rarely checks except for some outstanding reason; burden of proof would be on the complainant. Fewer than 1% of station renewals are not immediately granted, and only a small fraction of those actually denied.

The Federal Communications Commission also licenses amateur radio operators and stations, and does use its power to fine amateur radio operators who flagrantly violate its rules. It also licenses commercial operators who operate and repair certain radiotelephone, television, radar, and Morse code radio stations. In recent years it has also licensed people who maintain or operate GMDSS stations. While the FCC maintains control of the written and Morse testing standards, it no longer administers the exams, having delegated that function to private organizations.

Note: Similar authority for regulation of U.S. Government telecommunications is vested in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

Source: from Federal Standard 1037C

See also: frequency assignment, open spectrum, Ofcom (British equivalent), Mercedes divide, FCC MB Docket 04-232

Spectrum auctions

Beginning in 1994, commercial spectrum has been allocated via competitive auctions rather than the previous method of "best public use." This was a cumbersome bureaucratic process in which competitors attempted to show that they were most capable of making best public use of the license they wished to obtain. The structure and licenses available in each auction are determined by vote of the Commission, with the licenses awarded to the highest bidders. Auctions are usually conducted on a simultaneous multiple-round basis, with all offered licenses being auctioned at the same time. Auctions proceed in bidding rounds of decreasing duration until no more bids are received. Revenues are deposited in the US Treasury to be spent by Congress.

The FCC has been criticized for awarding a digital TV channel to each holder of an analog TV station license without an auction, as well as trading auctionable spectrum to Nextel to resolve public safety interference problems.

Criticisms

The FCC has been criticized on many fronts, both for being too restrictive and too permissive in its regulation.

On the issue of broadcast indecency, it has taken heat from right wing conservatives and family-oriented groups for not sufficiently censoring and restricting sexually explicit and violent material to which they believe children should not be exposed (a so-called Family Viewing Hour was instituted in the 1970s and then discontinued).

In the actions the FCC has taken against broadcasters, it is frequently being criticized for violating the First Amendment guarantee of Freedom of Speech, both directly by censorship and enforcement action, often politically motivated, and indirectly by the general intimidation it creates, particularly with the U.S. Congress considering multiplying fines exponentially. The FCC was even considering forcing all broadcasters to retain everything they broadcast for up to three months (FCC MB Docket 04-232) which would wipe out smaller broadcasters because of the enormous expenses associated with such a move in terms of having to purchase new equipment that has the necessary features for content storage and the need for facilities to store content.

Low-power broadcasting has also been a source of contention, as the FCC has set the power limits on it extremely low, while making it nearly impossible for anyone except large corporations or large nonprofit organizations to obtain a license. Stephen Dunifer did win a case versus the FCC, but otherwise few have successfully argued against the commission so far.

Anime fans are critical of companies such as 4Kids Entertainment for major editing of properties such as Pokemon and One Piece from Japan to fit US audiences on broadcast networks such as Fox and Kids' WB. According to these complaints, these networks, at times, may pick an anime which is aimed towards children and do an acceptable job with it, but there have been much too many instances when great works of japanese animation have been stripped down to a mindless bunch of drawings just to fit the American definition of "appropriate for children". As a rebutal, an interview with one of 4Kids' writers indicts the FCC:

"I know that many fans of the Japanese series vilify 4Kids for changing the content of the original shows. What they may not realize is that Fox Broadcast Standards and Practices forbids things like smoking, firing realistic weapons and, generally, any kind of violence that would be easy for kids to imitate. That’s because the FCC has rules and regulations governing broadcast. I happen to dislike realistic violence in the context of kids’ cartoons, but the changes we make in the original shows have nothing to do with a capricious desire to 'ruin' or 'destroy' them, as some 'purists' seem to feel."

Note that cable outlets, such as Cartoon Network's critically acclaimed Adult Swim, are not governed by the FCC and generally do much less editing. How much is usually determined by their standards and practices department.

FCC Satire

In early 2004, British-born Monty Python comic Eric Idle released a profanity-laced protest song, "The FCC Song", in reaction to a fine by the FCC for saying the word "fuck" on a Clear Channel radio station.

Another recent criticism was aired during Family Guy, November 6, 2005. During the season 4 episode PTV, Peter Griffin created his own television network after finding out that the FCC was cracking down on obscenity and censoring his favorite shows (prompted by an incident of indecent exposure by David Hyde Pierce). The episode includes an amusing song about the FCC as well.

External links

• FCC Webpage
• Enforcement Policies Regarding Broadcast Indecency
• FCC Rules
• Recent FCC Ruling - MB Docket No. 04-232
• Communications topics
• Cybertelecom: FCC rules that impact the Internet
• Fire the FCC
• Forbes - Does Open-Source Software Make The FCC Irrelevant?
• FCC Indecency Fines, 1970-2004
• Cable TV Channel Frequencies

• Federal Communications Commission