Communications Policy and the Public Interest The Telecommunications Act of 1996

by Aufderheide, Patricia A.

• ISBN13: 9781572304253
• ISBN10: 1572304251
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-01-15
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

The passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 inaugurated a new and highly volatile era in telecommunications. The first major overhaul of U.S. communications law since 1934--when no one had a television set, a cordless phone, or a computer--the Act was spurred into being by broad shifts in technology use. Equally important, this book shows, the new law reflects important changes in our notions of the purpose of communications regulation and how it should be deployed. Focusing on the evolution of the concept of the public interest, Aufderheide examines how and why the legislation was developed, provides a thematic analysis of the Act itself, and charts its intended and unintended effects in business and policy. An abridged version of the Act is included, as are the Supreme Court decision that struck down one of its clauses, the Communications Decency Act, and a variety of pertinent speeches and policy arguments. Readers are also guided to a range of organizations and websites that offer legal updates and policy information.

Author Biography

Patricia Aufderheide, PhD, School of Communication, American University, Washington, DC

Table of Contents

Introduction

Background

The Shaping of the 1996 Act

Overview of the Act

After the Act

The Public Interest beyond the Act Bibiliographic

tResources References Annotated Guide to Analyses of the Act, 1996-1997

Resources for Active Citizens Appendices Government Documents

Abridged Version of the Telecommunications Act of 1996

Syllabus and Opinion of Supreme Court Opinion No. 95-611

Attorney General of the United States, et al, American Civil Liberties Union et al., June 26, 1997

with concurrence by Justices O'Connor and Rehnquist Position Papers on Regulation and the Public Interest

Serving the Community: A Public Interest Vision of the National Information Infrastructure (abridged)

Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (1993)

Seven Public Interest Principles of the Telecommunications Policy Roundtable (1993)

Cyberspace and the American Dream: A Magna Carta for the Knowledge Age, The Progress and Freedom Foundation (1994)

Technorealism An Overview

Why Government Is the Solution, and Not the Problem, Gigi Sohn, Executive Director, Media Access Project (1997)

Interview with an Umpire, Michael Katz (1995) FCC Speeches

The Hard Road Ahead: An Agenda for the FCC in 1997

Chairman Reed Hundt, Federal Communications Commission

The Light at the End of the Tunnel vs. the Fog: Deregulation vs. the Legal Culture, Chairman Reed Hundt, Federal Communications Commission (1997)

Remarks by William Kennard, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission, to the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (1998)

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