On October 2, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC, the 2016 decision in which the Third Circuit rejected for the third time in fifteen years Commission efforts to modernize its media ownership rules.
In its petition, the agency posed the following question: "Whether the court of appeals erred in vacating as arbitrary and capricious the FCC orders under review, which, among other things, relaxed the agency’s cross-ownership restrictions to accommodate changed market conditions."
Chairman Ajit Pai tweeted his approval of the decision:
Great news: the Supreme Court has granted cert in @FCC v. Prometheus! Hope #SCOTUS affirms authority Congress gave us to amend ownership rules in light of a media marketplace that’s changed dramatically since 1975—especially with local news outlets struggling more than ever. pic.twitter.com/JkGqIra95F
— Ajit Pai (@AjitPaiFCC) October 2, 2020
And as I pointed out to Broadcasting+Cable:
The FCC's media ownership limits hark back more than 40 years to a reality long ago upended by marketplace forces. Section 202(h) of the 1996 Act requires the Commission every four years to consider whether its rules 'are necessary in the public interest as a result of competition. Over the nearly two decades during which a divided Third Circuit repeatedly has blocked agency efforts to relevel the regulatory playing field, we have witnessed numerous examples of new entrants disrupting the media landscape – and, in the process, chipping away at the relevance of traditional outlets. But in terms of game-changing competitive impact, one need only consider the Internet. Facebook was created in 2004. YouTube in 2005. Twitter in 2006. Over half of U.S. adults today obtain at least some of their news and information from social media, and more identify it as their primary source of political news than either local television stations or newspapers. I therefore welcome the announcement that the Supreme Court will hear the FCC's appeal.
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