D.C. Memo: Court Tosses Biden-Era FCC Rules on Broadcaster Employment Data; DEI Victory for FCC's Carr

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FCC: A panel of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit yesterday tossed out Biden-era FCC rules that required TV and radio stations to collect employment demographics data and disclose the information on FCC Form 395-B, with the agency posting the data on its website on a broadcaster-identifiable basis. The court held the FCC lacked statutory authority to adopt the rules in two respects. The FCC said it had the authority to do so under its public interest standard and provisions of the 1992 Cable Act, but the three-judge panel disagreed. “The FCC undoubtedly has broad authority to act in the public interest. That authority, however, must be linked ‘to a distinct grant of authority’ contained in its statutes,” the three-judge panel said. “The FCC has not shown that it is authorized to require broadcasters to file employment-demographics data or to analyze industry employment trends, so it cannot fall back on ‘public interest’ to fill the gap.” The court also rejected the FCC’s argument that Form 395-B was authorized by cable regulation law. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr reacted by saying on his X feed yesterday: “As I said in my dissent back then, the FCC’s 2024 decision was an unlawful effort to pressure businesses into discriminating based on race & gender.” (More after paywall.)