Brinkley Act
Encyclopedia
The Brinkley Act is the popular name given to (originally section 325(b) of the Communications Act of 1934
). This provision was enacted by the United States Congress
to prohibit broadcasting studios in the U.S. from being connected by live telephone line or other means to a transmitter located in Mexico
.
Prior to World War II
, Dr. John R. Brinkley
controlled a high-power radio station, XERA, located in Ciudad Acuña
, Coahuila
(Acuna City), on the U.S.-Mexican border. The programs on Brinkley's stations originated from studios in the United States, which were connected to his transmitters via international telephone lines. Brinkley broadcast programs advertising quack cures, supporting fascism
, and other controversial subjects. Since Brinkley's transmitters were licensed by Mexico, which at the time had very limited regulation of broadcast content, his broadcasting licenses could not be directly threatened by the U.S. government.
Dr. Brinkley's activities at his studio were thought to be a local matter, outside Congress's regulatory powers. However, the communications between the studio and his transmitters clearly involved international commerce and were therefore within Congress's power to regulate under the Commerce Clause
. The operative language is as follows:
The law goes on to state that the legal process for requesting such a permit is the same as that for requesting or renewing a license for a domestic station.
Although the original purpose of the Brinkley Act was to shut down a broadcaster, such applications are today granted as a matter of course, and a number of U.S. broadcasters are permitted to program Mexican stations from their U.S. studios in communities such as San Diego, California
and Brownsville, Texas
, where as many as a third of the stations in each market are licensed in Mexico. In recent years, the law has come back into prominence as its provisions have been used to extend U.S. ownership limits to Mexican stations leased by U.S. broadcasters.
from beaming a live signal from continental Europe
, which had originated in the London
studios of the station, to the whole of the United Kingdom
, the British
General Post Office
which had control of British telephones, enacted similar regulations. Consequently Radio Luxembourg, like the Mexican border-blasters, had to either use studios at the station in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, or record information in London on a transcription disc which could then be flown to Luxembourg for replay.
Communications Act of 1934
The Communications Act of 1934 is a United States federal law, enacted as Public Law Number 416, Act of June 19, 1934, ch. 652, 48 Stat. 1064, by the 73rd Congress, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, codified as Chapter 5 of Title 47 of the United States Code, et seq. The Act replaced the...
). This provision was enacted by the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
to prohibit broadcasting studios in the U.S. from being connected by live telephone line or other means to a transmitter located in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
Prior to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Dr. John R. Brinkley
John R. Brinkley
John Romulus Brinkley was a controversial American medical doctor who experimented with xenotransplantation of goat glands into humans as a means of curing male impotence in clinics across several states, and an advertising and radio pioneer who began the era of Mexican border blaster radio...
controlled a high-power radio station, XERA, located in Ciudad Acuña
Ciudad Acuña
Ciudad Acuña, also known simply as Acuña, is a city located in the Mexican state of Coahuila, at and a mean height above sea level of 271 meters...
, Coahuila
Coahuila
Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...
(Acuna City), on the U.S.-Mexican border. The programs on Brinkley's stations originated from studios in the United States, which were connected to his transmitters via international telephone lines. Brinkley broadcast programs advertising quack cures, supporting fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
, and other controversial subjects. Since Brinkley's transmitters were licensed by Mexico, which at the time had very limited regulation of broadcast content, his broadcasting licenses could not be directly threatened by the U.S. government.
Dr. Brinkley's activities at his studio were thought to be a local matter, outside Congress's regulatory powers. However, the communications between the studio and his transmitters clearly involved international commerce and were therefore within Congress's power to regulate under the Commerce Clause
Commerce Clause
The Commerce Clause is an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution . The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes." Courts and commentators have tended to...
. The operative language is as follows:
- No person shall be permitted to locate, use, or maintain a radio broadcast studio or other place or apparatus from which or whereby sound waves are converted into electrical energy, or mechanical or physical reproduction of sound waves produced, and caused to be transmitted or delivered to a radio station in a foreign country for the purpose of being broadcast from any radio station there having a power output of sufficient intensity and/or being so located geographically that its emissions may be received consistently in the United States, without first obtaining a permit from the Commission upon proper application therefor.
The law goes on to state that the legal process for requesting such a permit is the same as that for requesting or renewing a license for a domestic station.
Although the original purpose of the Brinkley Act was to shut down a broadcaster, such applications are today granted as a matter of course, and a number of U.S. broadcasters are permitted to program Mexican stations from their U.S. studios in communities such as San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
and Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...
, where as many as a third of the stations in each market are licensed in Mexico. In recent years, the law has come back into prominence as its provisions have been used to extend U.S. ownership limits to Mexican stations leased by U.S. broadcasters.
Comparable legislation elsewhere
In order to prevent Radio LuxembourgRadio Luxembourg (English)
Radio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is nowadays known in most non-English languages as RTL ....
from beaming a live signal from continental Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, which had originated in the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
studios of the station, to the whole of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
General Post Office
General Post Office
General Post Office is the name of the British postal system from 1660 until 1969.General Post Office may also refer to:* General Post Office, Perth* General Post Office, Sydney* General Post Office, Melbourne* General Post Office, Brisbane...
which had control of British telephones, enacted similar regulations. Consequently Radio Luxembourg, like the Mexican border-blasters, had to either use studios at the station in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, or record information in London on a transcription disc which could then be flown to Luxembourg for replay.