No Laughing Matter: How the Communications Act's Ambiguity Allows the FCC to Target Political Opponents

Over the last 18 months, Americans have witnessed increased censorship, with two notable cases falling upon political comedians: the cancellation of Stephen Colbert and the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel. While the FCC has been emboldened to target Trump’s political enemies, President Trump continues to jawbone and threaten broadcasters. In both legal and illegal ways, the second Trump administration has exploited the ambiguity of the Communications Act of 1934. In this paper, I begin by defining the importance of political comedy to American democracy. From there, I underline why an inconsistently utilized and vague Communications Act is an issue, particularly in its understanding of the equal time rule, the public interest standard, and the definition of hoaxes. Additionally, it does not account for the modern shift in media and media consumption. The Act also fails to protect broadcasters from jawboning and business interests. From there, I draw on interviews I conducted with writers for The Onion and discuss policy options and actions that can be taken by individuals and independent news outlets.