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Memorandum <br /> March 30, 1988 <br /> Page 3 <br /> rated or pornographic. (The Quad Cities franchise does not <br /> include this specific language, but there is general lan- <br /> guage regarding the control of programming content.) The <br /> contracts state that the city has the authority to determine <br /> which pornographic programs offend the standards of decency <br /> of the city. <br /> The Federal Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 <br /> provides at Section 624 (d) : <br /> (d) ( 1) Nothing in this title shall be con- <br /> strued as prohibiting the franchising author- <br /> ity and the cable operator from specifying, in <br /> a franchise or renewal thereof, that certain <br /> cable services shall not be provided or shall <br /> be provided subject to conditions, if such <br /> cable services are obscene or are otherwise <br /> unprotected by the Constitution of the United <br /> • States. (Emphasis added) . <br /> ( 2) (A) In order to restrict the viewing of <br /> programming which is obscene or indecent, upon <br /> the request of a subscriber , a cable operator <br /> shall provide (by sale or lease) a device by <br /> which the subscriber can prohibit viewing of a <br /> particular cable service during periods <br /> selected by that subscriber. <br /> The Constitution of the United States provides in the <br /> First Amendment that the rights of freedom of speech and <br /> freedom of expression shall be protected by the United <br /> States Constitution and not restricted by local, state, or <br /> federal governments. However , obscene material is not pro- <br /> tected by the First Amendment. <br /> While newspapers and magazines are broadly protected by <br /> the First Amendment and have relatively unrestricted author- <br /> ity to print whatever they choose, broadcasting mediums are <br /> not so protected. In the .broadcast area, the Supreme Court <br /> has consistently held that reasonable public interest regu- <br /> lation of broadcasters does not violate the broadcasters' <br /> First Amendment rights. <br /> • For the purposes of any First Amendment analysis of <br /> cable regulation, a key issue is whether cable systems <br /> should be treated more like newspapers or more like broad- <br /> casters, and to what extent factors unique to cable systems <br /> should be considered in balancing the appropriate First <br />