Broadcasters Protection Act of 1984
Official title: A bill to clarify the obligations of broadcasters to legally qualified candidates for public office, and for other purposes.
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce.
Broadcasters' Protection Act of 1984 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to declare that provisions requiring a broadcast station licensee to provide equal opportunities for station access to political candidates and prohibiting the licensee from censoring a candidate's broadcast do not require the licensee to broadcast any material the broadcast of which the licensee believes would violate any criminal law. Provides that a licensee's refusal to broadcast material based on such belief shall be a defense to any revocation action by the Federal Communications Commission and shall not be used adversely against the licensee in a comparative licensing process.
Permits a broadcaster to petition any appropriate U.S. district court for a determination as to whether the broadcast of such material would violate a criminal law and for declaratory judgment relief. Allows a candidate whose broadcast is denied to petition the court for such a determination and for declaratory judgment relief with respect to such denial.
Cite this page
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 2241: Broadcasters Protection Act of 1984. 98th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/98-S-2241/
"S. 2241: Broadcasters Protection Act of 1984." 98th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/98-S-2241/.
S. 2241, 98th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/98-S-2241/.
[S. 2241: Broadcasters Protection Act of 1984](https://openamerica.io/bill/98-S-2241/)