It’s the president’s fault as much as anything is the president’s fault during their administration. He didn’t send it back, he didn’t hinder its progress, he didn’t sway congress to not support it. More over, it seems, he or his administration or whomever he friends were in congress didn’t have the foresight to consider how damaging the law would be. The reason it got so much support was because Clinton was promoting it as if to be one of his greatest achievements; and because the telecom industry was lobbying the fuck out of Washington at the time and has only continued to grow larger and larger year over year thanks in part to the Citizen’s United ruling (to be clear, not Clinton’s fault). The internet likes to bash Reagan for the Fairness Doctrine but (1) that was limited to broadcast television and (2) they forget how impactful the Telecommunications Act was on consolidating media ownership.
For the past three years, President Clinton and Vice President Gore have worked for telecommunications reform that stimulates private investment, promotes competition, protects diversity of viewpoints and voices among the media, provides families with technologies to help them control the kinds of television programs that come into their homes, and strengthens and improves universal service so that all Americans can have access to the benefits of the information superhighway. With passage of the Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996, this important national goal has been met. Signed into law by President Clinton today this legislation will lead all Americans into a more prosperous future by preparing our economy for the 21st Century and opening wide the door to the Information Age. https://clintonwhitehouse4.archives.gov/WH/EOP/OP/telecom/summary.html
It’s the president’s fault as much as anything is the president’s fault during their administration. He didn’t send it back, he didn’t hinder its progress, he didn’t sway congress to not support it. More over, it seems, he or his administration or whomever he friends were in congress didn’t have the foresight to consider how damaging the law would be. The reason it got so much support was because Clinton was promoting it as if to be one of his greatest achievements; and because the telecom industry was lobbying the fuck out of Washington at the time and has only continued to grow larger and larger year over year thanks in part to the Citizen’s United ruling (to be clear, not Clinton’s fault). The internet likes to bash Reagan for the Fairness Doctrine but (1) that was limited to broadcast television and (2) they forget how impactful the Telecommunications Act was on consolidating media ownership.