From today's D.C. Circuit decision in Nat'l Ass'n of Broadcasters v. FCC, written by Judge Justin Walker and joined by Judges Cornelia Pillard and Raymond Randolph:
In October 1964, Barry Goldwater's supporters sponsored thirty minutes of television time for an actor named Ronald Reagan to make a closing argument for Goldwater's struggling campaign. The speech—which failed to save Goldwater but launched Reagan on a path to the White House—was introduced with a stock announcement:
The following pre-recorded political program is sponsored by TV for Goldwater-Miller on behalf of Barry Goldwater, Republican candidate for President of the United States.
Today, similar announcements for sponsored radio broadcasts are required by the Communications Act of 1934. To make that announcement, a broadcaster must ask its employees and sponsors for information necessary to determine a sponsor's identity.
Recently, the FCC began to require more. It issued an order mandating that radio broadcasters check two federal sources to verify a sponsor's identity.
Because the FCC has no authority to impose that verification requirement, we vacate that facet of its order….
