Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/18pdf/17-1702_h315.pdf
Page Number: 16

Cite as:  587 U. S. ____ (2019) 

13 

Opinion of the Court 

community,  or  whether  the  utility  was  the  only  entity 
providing electric service to much of that community. 
  This  case  closely  parallels  Jackson.    Like  the  electric 
utility in Jackson, MNN is “a heavily regulated, privately 
owned” entity.  Id., at 358.  As in Jackson, the regulations 
do not transform the regulated private entity into a state 
actor. 
  Put simply, being regulated by the State does not make 
one  a  state  actor.    See  Sullivan,  526  U. S.,  at  52;  Blum, 
457  U. S.,  at  1004;  Rendell-Baker,  457  U. S.,  at  841–842; 
Jackson, 419 U. S., at 350; Moose Lodge, 407 U. S., at 176–
177.    As  the  Court’s  cases  have  explained,  the  “being 
heavily regulated makes you a state actor” theory of state 
action  is  entirely  circular  and  would  significantly  endan-
ger  individual  liberty  and  private  enterprise.    The  theory 
would  be  especially  problematic  in  the  speech  context, 
because  it  could  eviscerate  certain  private  entities’  rights 
to  exercise  editorial  control  over  speech  and  speakers  on 
their  properties  or  platforms. 
  Not  surprisingly,  as 
JUSTICE  THOMAS  has  pointed  out,  this  Court  has  “never 
even  hinted  that  regulatory  control,  and  particularly 
direct  regulatory  control  over  a  private  entity’s  First 
Amendment  speech  rights,”  could  justify  subjecting  the 
regulated  private  entity  to  the  constraints  of  the  First 
Amendment.    Denver  Area,  518  U. S.,  at  829  (opinion 
concurring in judgment in part and dissenting in part). 
  In  sum,  we  conclude  that  MNN  is  not  subject  to  First 
Amendment  constraints  on  how  it  exercises  its  editorial 
discretion  with  respect  to  the  public  access  channels.    To 
be  sure,  MNN  is  subject  to  state-law  constraints  on  its 
editorial  discretion  (assuming  those  state  laws  do  not 
violate  a  federal  statute  or  the  Constitution).    If  MNN 
violates  those  state  laws,  or  violates  any  applicable  con-
tracts,  MNN  could  perhaps  face  state-law  sanctions  or 
liability  of  some  kind.    We  of  course  take  no  position  on 
any  potential  state-law  questions.    We  simply  conclude