N.Y. Public Service Law 229 – Censorship prohibited
§ 229. Censorship prohibited. 1. The commission may not prohibit or limit any program or any class or type of program or otherwise censor the communications or signals transmitted by any cable television company or over any cable television system, and may not promulgate any regulation or condition which would interfere with the right of free speech by means of cable television.
Terms Used In N.Y. Public Service Law 229
- Cable television company: shall mean any person owning, controlling, operating, managing or leasing one or more cable television systems within the state. See N.Y. Public Service Law 212
- Cable television system: shall mean any system which operates for hire the service of receiving and amplifying programs broadcast by one or more television or radio stations or any other programs originated by a cable television company or by any other party, and distributing such programs by wire, cable, microwave or other means, whether such means are owned or leased, to persons in one or more municipalities who subscribe to such service. See N.Y. Public Service Law 212
- Franchise: shall mean and include any authorization granted by a municipality in terms of a franchise, privilege, permit, license or other municipal authorization to construct, operate, maintain, or manage a cable television system in any municipality. See N.Y. Public Service Law 212
- Municipality: shall mean any village, town, city or county not wholly contained within a city in the state. See N.Y. Public Service Law 212
- Program: shall mean any broadcast type program, signal, message, graphics, data, or communication content service. See N.Y. Public Service Law 212
2. No municipality may prohibit or limit any program or class or type of program or impose discriminatory or preferential franchise fees in any manner that would tend to encourage or discourage programming of any particular nature, directly or indirectly.
3. No cable television company may prohibit or limit any program or class or type of program presented over a leased channel or any channel made available for public access or educational purposes.