Judge Denies NCTA-Sought Relief to Maine PEG Law
U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen of Portland rejected NCTA's ask for declaratory and injunctive relief in its lawsuit challenging Maine public, educational and government access channel carriage provisions and requirement cable operators extend service to areas that meet a certain…
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population density (see 1909160027). In her order (in Pacer, docket 19-cv-420) Wednesday, Torresen said the line extension requirement might carry unreasonable cost burdens, but NCTA hasn't shown it will be unconstitutional in every application or that it "lacks a plainly legitimate sweep." Cable operators challenging the provision case by case makes more sense, she said. The jurist said the PEG provisions are consumer protection and not specifically pre-empted by federal law. NCTA said it's disappointed with the ruling and believes "Maine’s burdensome network build-out and PEG requirements conflict with federal law and should be preempted, and that the PEG mandates independently violate cable operators’ First Amendment rights. We are reviewing the ruling and considering next steps.”