Broadcasters Beat FCC’s Radio Program Sponsor Verification Order

The Federal Communications Commission lacks authority to require radio broadcasters to check federal sources to verify the identities of program sponsors, the D.C. Circuit said Tuesday in an opinion vacating the verification mandate.

The Communications Act requires broadcasters to say who paid for or sponsored a program. It also mandates that they “exercise reasonable diligence” to obtain that information from employees and other direct contacts, the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said. But a new order requiring broadcasters to independently verify a sponsor’s identity using federal websites exceeds the authority the law gives the agency, it said. ...