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UNITED STATES v. PLAYBOY ENTERTAINMENT
GROUP, INC.
Opinion of the Court

III

The District Court concluded that a less restrictive al-
ternative is available: § 504, with adequate publicity. 30
F. Supp. 2d, at 719–720. No one disputes that § 504, which
requires cable operators to block undesired channels at indi-
vidual households upon request, is narrowly tailored to the
Government’s goal of supporting parents who want those
channels blocked. The question is whether § 504 can be
effective.

In support of

When a plausible, less restrictive alternative is offered to
a content-based speech restriction, it is the Government’s ob-
ligation to prove that the alternative will be ineffective to
achieve its goals. The Government has not met that burden
here.
its position, the Government cites
empirical evidence showing that § 504, as promulgated and
implemented before trial, generated few requests for
household-by-household blocking. Between March 1996 and
May 1997, while the Government was enjoined from enforc-
ing § 505, § 504 remained in operation. A survey of cable
operators determined that fewer than 0.5% of cable subscrib-
Id., at 712.
ers requested full blocking during that time.
The uncomfortable fact is that § 504 was the sole blocking
regulation in effect for over a year; and the public greeted it
with a collective yawn.

The District Court was correct to direct its attention to
the import of this tepid response. Placing the burden of
proof upon the Government, the District Court examined
whether § 504 was capable of serving as an effective, less
restrictive means of reaching the Government’s goals.
Id.,
at 715, 718–719.
It concluded that § 504, if publicized in an
adequate manner, could be.

Id., at 719–720.

The District Court employed the proper approach. When
the Government restricts speech, the Government bears
the burden of proving the constitutionality of its actions.
Greater New Orleans Broadcasting Assn., Inc. v. United
States, 527 U. S. 173, 183 (1999) (“[T]he Government bears