In its first sentence, an Act of June 19, 1934 established the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC):
For the purpose of regulating interstate and foreign commerce in communication by wire and radio so as to make available, so far as possible, to all the people of the United States, without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex, a rapid, efficient, Nationwide, and world-wide wire and radio communication service with adequate facilities at reasonable charges, for the purpose of the national defense, for the purpose of promoting safety of life and property through the use of wire and radio communication, and for the purpose of securing a more effective execution of this policy by centralizing authority heretofore granted by law to several agencies and by granting additional authority with respect to interstate and foreign commerce in wire and radio communication, there is hereby created a commission to be known as the ”Federal Communications Commission,” which shall be constituted as hereinafter provided, and which shall execute and enforce the provisions of this Act.
In all that the FCC does, this Act provides the pattern for the FCC to follow. An important aspect of FCC procedure is notice-and-comment rulemaking. Undoubtedly recognizing its distinguished forebearers, Facebook recently instituted a similar procedure.
Celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the FCC by enjoying the many different ways in which you can communicate.