In early 2024, Joe Biden's FCC reinstated the collection of employment-demographics data for most television and radio broadcasters, requiring them to annually file a form detailing race, ethnicity, and gender data for each employee. The FCC would then publish the list.
The order was challenged by National Religious Broadcasters, Texas Association of Broadcasters, and American Family Association – the latter of which operates the American Family Radio network.* On Monday they won a unanimous ruling at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Abraham Hamilton III, general counsel for AFA, says the Biden administration tried to take a second bite at the apple by adding "woke" requirements to the list.
"The [original] regulation says that the FCC requires all broadcasters to collect demographic data from their staff. That had already been ruled unconstitutional," Hamilton explains. "But the Biden administration not only said that but added an additional category to be collected [from staff]: gender identity information."
The attorney describes it as a blatant attempt to shame and persecute Christian broadcasters, setting them up for condemnation if they don't employ enough "gender nonconforming, gay, lesbian, [or] bisexual" individuals. But Hamilton says the appeals court stopped the Biden administration in its tracks.
"The Fifth Circuit has ruled that the regulation is still unconstitutional, and the additional categories are just as unconstitutional as the original form requirements in the first place," he says.
Specifically, the Fifth Circuit ruling states that the FCC "lacks statutory authority to require these disclosures, that requiring disclosure and publication violates Petitioners’ First and Fifth Amendment rights, and that the order is arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act."
"So, this settles the issue," Hamilton concludes. "The Fifth Circuit affirms our freedom to hire and to operate consistent with our commitments to the Bible, without government intrusion."
According to Hamilton, the Fifth Circuit's decision will suffice for the rest of the country because it affirms a previous Supreme Court decision striking down the first FCC requirement.
The case is National Religious Broadcasters & American Family Association vs. Federal Communications Commission.
Editor's Note: American Family Association is the parent organization of the American Family News Network, which operates AFN.net.
* The American Family Radio network, based in Tupelo, MS, operates 160-plus stations nationwide.
