Maria L. Mullarkey
Wiley Rein LLP
Articles
Supreme Court issues narrow decision in favor of broadcasters on broadcast indecency
USA - June 21 2012 On June 21, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. (Fox II). In a decision written by Justice Kennedy, the Court without dissent (Justice Ginsburg concurred in the judgment and Justice Sotomayor did not participate) set aside the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) orders citing Fox and ABC for indecency violations, finding that the agency failed to give the networks prior, fair notice that fleeting expletives and momentary nudity could be found actionably indecent.
FCC clarifies rules for LPFM
USA - May 17 2012 On March 19, 2012, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Fourth Report and Order and Third Order on Reconsideration (4th R&O), which attempts to resolve issues related to processing the thousands of remaining FM translator applications pending since the 2003 window with an eye toward preserving licensing opportunities for low power FM (LPFM) stations.
FCC specifies cap-related requirements for the Emergency Alert System (EAS)
USA - February 28 2012 On January 10, 2012, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Fifth Report and Order (Fifth R&O) that specifies how Emergency Alert System (EAS) participants must implement the requirement to receive alert messages formatted in the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP).
Challenge to Illinois eavesdropping law may face uphill battle in the 7th Circuit
USA - January 27 2012 In ACLU v. Alvarez, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois (ACLU) filed a lawsuit in district court challenging the constitutionality of the Illinois Eavesdropping Act, as applied to the audio recording of police officers when they are performing their public duties in public places and speaking at a volume audible to the unassisted human ear.
Comment dates set for media ownership NPRM
USA - January 19 2012 The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing changes to the media ownership rules as part of the 2010 Quadrennial Review proceeding was published in the Federal Register on January 19, 2012.
