Opinion ID: 419941
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Federal Regulation of Advertising

Text: 29 Federal regulation of broadcasting, whether by radio or television, is comprehensive. By the Communications Act's licensing provision federal law governs who may broadcast and over what frequencies. Under that statute and the regulations adopted pursuant to it, broadcast licenses may be issued only after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) determines that issuance is in the public interest. 29 Licensees' broadcasting discretion is subject to a number of important limits such as the personal attack rule, 30 the fairness doctrine, 31 the prime-time access rule, 32 and the equal opportunity rule. 33 Federal regulations also govern billing for media advertising, 34 refusal to sell advertising time, 35 sponsorship information, 36 alcoholic beverage advertising, 37 amounts of commercial time, 38 penalties for false, misleading, or deceptive advertising, 39 loudness of commercials, 40 and the number of commercials permitted during a given program. 41 30 This comprehensive regulatory scheme does not, however, entirely bar states from legislating in the broadcast field. Thus in Head v. New Mexico Board of Examiners, 374 U.S. 424, 83 S.Ct. 1759, 10 L.Ed.2d 983 (1963), the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a state statute forbidding price advertising by optometrists. Recognizing the comprehensive nature of federal regulation under the Communications Act, the Court nevertheless held that preemption questions in the communications field must be answered by considering the specific factors in each case. The Court noted: [s]tatements concerning the 'exclusive jurisdiction' of Congress beg the only controversial question: whether Congress intended to make its jurisdiction exclusive. Id. at 430, 83 S.Ct. at 1763, 10 L.Ed.2d at 988. The Court held that the state statute was not preempted because Congress could not have intended its grant of authority to supplant all the detailed state regulation of professional advertising practices .... Id. at 431, 83 S.Ct. at 1764, 10 L.Ed.2d at 989. We must, therefore, inquire whether Congress intended its regulation of and grant of authority to the FCC over political advertising to oust state regulation. 31