The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is stripping 83 rules from its books as part of its reform agenda and commitment to a request from President Barack Obama earlier in the year to improve or remove any rules that were out of date, the agency said on Monday.
Among the eliminated rules are Fairness Doctrine regulations that were intended to promote honest, balanced discussion of controversial issues when introduced in 1949.
But as more broadcast stations and cable channels became available, the need to mandate a diversity of viewpoints eroded and the rules were abolished in 1987. The FCC has not enforced the rules in more than two decades, but they were never officially taken off the books. more