What To Know About The FCC Rule At The Center Of Trump Administration Efforts To Crack Down On Stephen Colbert And Other Late-Night Hosts

When Stephen Colbert announced that CBS restricted him from airing an interview with a Democratic candidate, it set off a range of reactions: Some argued that it reflected Trump’s efforts to censor late-night content; others that it was merely enforcement of a law on the books.

Even Colbert and CBS appear to have different versions of just what happened, leading to the Late Show host shifting a planned interview with Texas State Rep. James Talarico from broadcast to YouTube. Talarico is among the candidates running for U.S. Senate in the Lone Star state.

At the center of the flare up is the FCC’s Equal Opportunities Rule, more commonly referred to as the Equal Time Rule. It requires that when broadcasters feature a legally qualified political candidate on their airwaves, they have to provide time to rivals if it is requested. In other words, it doesn’t restrict…