Petition to Supreme Court Could Clear the Way for Modernized Media Rules

On April 17, U.S. General Solicitor Noel Francisco filed a petition to seek Supreme Court review of a decision by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC. For 17 years, a divided panel of the Third Circuit has effectively blocked all attempts by the FCC to comply with Section 202(h) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and modernize media ownership rules. Hopefully, the Supreme Court will agree to hear the case and clear the way for rules that reflect current market conditions. As Free State Foundation President Randolph May and I discussed in our November 2017 Perspectives from FSF Scholars paper, "It's Time for the FCC to Relinquish Control of Media Ownership," existing rules reflect a largely 1970's outlook on the media market. As the Commission has rightly recognized, the rules need to be significantly revamped.