censoring candidate ad

With A Week to Go Before the Midterm Elections, Watch for Last Minute Unfounded Attack Ads – The Potential Liability of Stations for False Claims in Ads from PACs, Parties and Other Noncandidate Groups

By David Oxenford|2022-11-01T10:18:32-05:00November 1st, 2022|Legal News|

There is but a week to go before the mid-term elections, and political ads blanket the airwaves across the country. From discussions that I have had with many attorneys, broadcasters and other campaign observers, the ads this year have been particularly aggressive. Some publications have even suggested that, in the waning days of the campaign,... Continue Reading…

NPR Story Says That You are Allowed to Lie in Broadcast Political Ads – Half the Story?

By David Oxenford|2022-03-23T10:05:48-05:00March 23rd, 2022|Legal News|

Last week, NPR ran a story with the provocative headline – “The Truth In Political Advertising – You’re Allowed to Lie.” The story talked about how the FCC does not regulate candidate advertising to decide the truth of political ads, and then quoted a former FCC Chair to say that candidates can “lie” in their... Continue Reading…

Facebook Defends Not Censoring Political Ads – Looking at the Differences In Regulation of Political Speech on Different Communications Platforms

By David Oxenford|2020-06-12T11:25:18-05:00June 12th, 2020|Legal News|

The question about what to do with the protections offered by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act took another turn this week, when Joe Biden suggested that online platforms needed to take responsibility for the content posted on them and correct misinformation in those ads. That position is seemingly the opposite of the President’s... Continue Reading…

Lowest Unit Charge Windows Open in About 30 States and Territories – Reviewing A Broadcaster’s Political Advertising Obligations

By David Oxenford|2020-01-17T19:51:39-06:00January 17th, 2020|Legal News|

On January 18, the lowest unit charge window for Presidential primaries or caucuses begins in Super Tuesday states including Alabama, American Samoa (D), Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia. The LUC window opened on January 15 for South Carolina’s Democratic primary and will open on January 23... Continue Reading…

Facebook Criticized for Not Censoring Candidate Ads – Even Though Congress Requires No Censorship from Broadcasters

By David Oxenford|2019-10-17T09:35:26-05:00October 17th, 2019|Legal News|

In recent weeks, Facebook has been criticized for adopting a policy of not censoring advertising and other content posted on its platforms by political candidates. While Facebook apparently will review content whose veracity is challenged when posted by anyone else, it made an exception for posts by political candidates – and has received much heat... Continue Reading…

Ted Cruz Demands Takedown of PAC Ad Attacking His Voting Record – Issues that Broadcast Stations Need to Consider When Threatened by Candidate Wanting an Ad Pulled

By David Oxenford|2016-02-17T11:20:06-06:00February 17th, 2016|Legal News|

According to Politico, Ted Cruz’ campaign has demanded that TV stations pull certain PAC ads which he claims distort his voting record on immigration issues. This kind of claim from a political candidate about the unfairness of attack ads is common. Here, Cruz’ representatives apparently don’t threaten lawsuits against the stations for running the ads,… Continue Reading

Questions about the Truth of Political Ads, What’s a Broadcaster to Do When a Candidate Complains About an Attack Ad? – The No Censorship Rule for Candidate Ads

By David Oxenford|2014-09-23T10:48:32-05:00September 23rd, 2014|Legal News|

Every election season there is the same refrain from candidates who are attacked in political ads run on broadcast stations – that ad is unfair and the broadcaster who is running it should take it off the air. Sometime, that request is sent by a lawyer with threats to bring legal actions if the broadcaster … Continue Reading