SCOTUS Rules in FCC's Favor 9-0 on Prometheus Broadcast Ownership Case

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the FCC in the agency’s appeal of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Prometheus broadcast ownership case. “The FCC’s decision to repeal or modify the three ownership rule was not arbitrary and capricious for purposes” of the Administrative Procedure Act, said Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the majority opinion. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion. “In light of the sparse record on minority and female ownership and the FCC’s findings with respect to competition, localism, and viewpoint diversity, the Court cannot say that the agency’s decision to repeal or modify the ownership rules fell outside the zone of reasonableness for purposes of the APA,” wrote Kavanaugh. The decision reverses the ruling of the 3rd Circuit, which had reinstated the newspaper/broadcast ownership rule, the eight-voices test and other broadcast ownership limitations. The FCC didn’t immediately comment.