U.S. court says FCC cannot compel broadcasters to verify sponsors identities

[melm00se]

9. Decision

https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/DED0BACFFB0E8C748525887D004FC765/$file/21-1171-1954455.pdf

The Court held that

Because the FCC has no authority to impose that verification requirement, we vacate that facet of its order.

Translation: the FCC overstepped their authority specifically as it relates to step #4 of the In the Matter of Sponsorship Identification Requirements for Foreign Government-Provided Programming (36 FCC Rcd. 7702 (2021)):

Independently confirm the sponsor’s status, at both the time of the lease and the time of any renewal, by checking the Department of Justice’s Foreign Agents Registration Act website and the FCC’s U.S.-based foreign media outlets reports;

the law in question is 47 U.S.C. § 317(c).