Controversy with the Communications Act of 1934

Controversy with Telecommunication Act Affecting Communications Bill:
Since the Communications Act of 1934 was passed the FCC regulated all lines of communication and made it affordable to the public. However, people in America understood that networks were influenced by the FCC. People then felt that the law in the Communications Act needed to be changed. They felt that the FCC was violating freedom of speech because they would filter obscene content. In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed a bill called the Telecommunications Act to amend laws in that 1934 bill, because people felt with the new technology advances the 1934 bill was out of date. However, what they didn't foresee was that ownership rules would change and that would start monopolies.

In the bill, Communications Act of 1934, there were two types of communications that were to be regulated. One was called Title I services, which was the services for materials that were under light restrictions. Title II services were under tighter restrictions under a rule called "common carrier". The common carrier is simply defined as a person who renders communication service for hire to the public. In 2002, some argued that internet services needed to be regulated because they thought it interfered with Title II's common carrier regulations. However, that ruling was overruled because internet services has been interpreted as not falling under a telecommunication service. Those that oppose the ruling believe that Congress should pass a law to expand the FCC's authority so that internet services can be filtered.

Revisions to the Communications Bill, before 1996:
Before the Telecommunications Act of 1996 there were many other revisions to the Communications Act of 1934 before hand. In 1962 the Communications Satellite was passed to give FCC authority to regulate satellites. In 1992, it was the Cable Communications Act that called for a few revisions to the original bill from 1934. However, none of those bills had a bigger impact on the Communications Act until the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was passed. The 1996 ruling made it more difficult for the FCC to regulate broadcasting and as a result the FCC can not influence a station to serve the public interest. 

Criticism of the Communicates Bill:

The Communications Act of 1934 has also been criticized for having definitions in its bill to broad. Some have found that to be helpful because it was used as a framework for other bills that passed over the years that have made laws and amended the authority of the FCC. The FCC has also been criticized for making adjustments to fit the needs of larger broadcast interests.

How Revisions Have Effected the FCC's Duties:

Ultimately, reforms of the Communications Act of 1934 has derived the FCC from fulfilling its intended purpose. Mainly due to the Telecommunications Act the FCC wasn't able to regulate TV stations because of the difficulty of obtaining broadcast licenses. In the end, the other bills have made it more difficult for the FCC to regulate communication. As a result, the FCC has been marginalized by the industries they were established to regulate.