The U.S. Supreme Court case Federal Communications Commission v. League of Women Voters of California et al., 1983, centered around a dispute over the constitutionality of Section 399 of the Public Broadcasting Act which prohibited noncommercial educational broadcasting stations from engaging in editorializing activities if they received federal funding. The League of Women Voters challenged this provision arguing that it violated their First Amendment rights to free speech and expression. In a split decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the League, finding that while Congress had an interest in preventing federally funded broadcasters from becoming propaganda vehicles for government viewpoints or other private interests, Section 399 was overly broad and infringed on more speech than necessary to achieve its purpose. Therefore, it was deemed unconstitutional as it violated First Amendment protections.

In the dissenting opinion for FCC v. League of Women Voters, it was argued that the ban on editorializing by noncommercial public broadcasters who receive federal funding infringes upon First Amendment rights to free speech and press. The justices contended that this prohibition is both overbroad and underinclusive; while it restricts a significant amount of protected speech, it does not effectively serve its intended purpose of preventing governmental interference or control over content. They also criticized the majority's reliance on Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC (1969) as precedent, arguing that this case involved different issues related to commercial broadcasting rather than noncommercial stations' right to express opinions without government censorship or influence.