Federal · Title 47 — Telecommunications

47 U.S.C. § 558: Criminal and civil liability

Civil

What this law says, in plain English

This statute preserves existing criminal and civil liability for cable programmers and operators under federal, state, and local law for libel, slander, obscenity, and similar violations, with a limited exception for obscene material on public access channels.

Read the full statutory text

Nothing in this subchapter shall be deemed to affect the criminal or civil liability of cable programmers or cable operators pursuant to the Federal, State, or local law of libel, slander, obscenity, incitement, invasions of privacy, false or misleading advertising, or other similar laws, except that cable operators shall not incur any such liability for any program carried on any channel designated for public, educational, governmental use or on any other channel obtained under section 532 of this title or under similar arrangements unless the program involves obscene material.

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.