Best Buy: FCC has no power to fine us over analog TVs

The nation's biggest electronics retailer has told the Federal Communications Commission that the agency lacks the authority to punish Best Buy for screwing up its digital transition TV selling rules. "The Commission never before has claimed, asserted, or exercised direct or ancillary jurisdiction over retailers, or retail practices, of the nature that is asserted" by the FCC, Best Buy attorneys say. And the appliance giant charges that the Commission's recent Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) holds the company to "a standard of flawless compliance." That's especially unfair, Best Buy complains, given that the FCC's NAL also contains mistakes. "The Commission has not claimed any express authorization from Congress to enact the Labeling Rule, and none exists," Best Buy argues. Best Buy concedes that the agency takes its authority from court decisions that say that if a matter is "reasonably ancillary to the effective performance of the Commission’s various responsibilities," the FCC can make rules that have teeth. But the company insists that the Communications Act limits the agency's authority to matters regarding "communication by wire or radio." It does not give the agency the power to regulate retailers who sell related equipment.
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