ABSTRACT
The first step in implementing a private right to censor is to determine, through a legislative fact-finding process, the particular types of speech or media content that are subject to such a right. A private right to censor cannot be implemented through judicial decree. For the same reason that the courts have not crafted a constitutional right to know, they likewise cannot independently implement a right to reject. First Amendment doctrine generally denies legislatures any role in shaping or addressing free speech issues. To do otherwise would be to impose too much uncertainty and subjectivity into the area of First Amendment protections. If there is to be a private right of censor, it must be an effective right. And it must recognize that in the past the television industry has not been very accommodating to efforts at facilitating viewer control.
