Document Type
Article
Abstract
A model of regulation is being developed in response to the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. That model could be based on the motion picture industry’s system of self-regulation, which may at first seem to be less threatening to the First Amendment rights of the Internet users. On the other hand, the Internet regulatory model could be modeled on the broadcast industry’s system of federal regulation through an administrative agency like the FCC—a choice many people immediately associate with censorship and government interference in private conversations and transactions. The purpose of this article is to examine the development of two contrasting regulatory models and some of the common assumptions about the greater protection of First Amendment and individual rights in a self-regulatory model. Hopefully this comparison will enlighten our development of a new regulatory model for the Internet through recognition of the pitfalls inherent in both of these models.
Part II of this paper recounts the birth and development of the motion picture industry, discusses the fears expressed about the effects of the medium, examines the methods of control applied to the industry to address those fears, and considers the criticisms and problems with self-regulation by the industry. In Part III, the same issues in regards to the broadcasting medium are discussed. Part IV concludes the paper by comparing the successes and failures of the regulation of the two media, and considers what history of these media tell us about regulation of the Internet.
Recommended Citation
Jeffrey A. Jacobs,
Comparing Regulatory Models — Self-Regulation vs. Government Regulation: The Contrast between the Regulation of Motion Pictures and Broadcasting May Have Implications for Internet Regulation,
1 J. Tech. L. & Pol'y
(1996).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/jtlp/vol1/iss1/5