Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/18pdf/17-1702_h315.pdf
Page Number: 19

16  MANHATTAN COMMUNITY ACCESS CORP. v. HALLECK 

Opinion of the Court 

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  It is sometimes said that the bigger the government, the 
smaller  the  individual.    Consistent  with  the  text  of  the 
Constitution,  the  state-action  doctrine  enforces  a  critical 
boundary between the government and the individual, and 
thereby  protects  a  robust  sphere  of  individual  liberty.  
Expanding the state-action doctrine beyond its traditional 
boundaries  would  expand  governmental  control  while 
restricting  individual  liberty  and  private  enterprise.    We 
decline to do so in this case. 
  MNN  is  a  private  entity  that  operates  public  access 
channels  on  a  cable  system.    Operating  public  access 
channels  on  a  cable  system  is  not  a  traditional,  exclusive 
public function.  A private entity such as MNN who opens 
its  property  for  speech  by  others  is  not  transformed  by 
that  fact  alone  into  a  state  actor.    Under  the  text  of  the 
Constitution and our precedents, MNN is not a state actor 
subject  to  the  First  Amendment.    We  reverse  in  relevant 
part  the  judgment  of  the  Second  Circuit,  and  we  remand 
the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. 

It is so ordered.