In the 1941 case National Broadcasting Co., Inc. v. United States, the Supreme Court upheld Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations that were designed to promote diversity in programming and prevent network monopolies on radio broadcasting. The FCC had issued rules limiting chain broadcasting - a practice where large networks like NBC would provide a significant amount of content for local stations, thereby reducing local control over programming. NBC challenged these rules as an overreach of regulatory authority by the FCC under the Communications Act of 1934, arguing it violated their First Amendment rights. The Supreme Court disagreed with NBC's argument and ruled in favor of the FCC stating that public interest was served by promoting competition and preventing excessive concentration of power in hands of few networks. They held that while broadcasters have First Amendment protections, they are also subject to regulation due to their use of limited public airwaves resources which need to be fairly distributed among potential users.

In the dissenting opinion for the National Broadcasting Co., Inc. v. United States case, Justice Roberts expressed concern over the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) authority to regulate network broadcasting contracts and practices under Section 316 of the Communications Act of 1934. He argued that this section did not grant such power to FCC as it only provided a mechanism for revoking licenses in cases where direct violations occurred, not for general regulation or control over contractual relationships between broadcasters and networks. Furthermore, he contended that Congress had never intended to give FCC such broad regulatory powers when they enacted this legislation; hence its application was unconstitutional in his view. Additionally, he criticized majority’s decision stating it could lead to potential abuse by allowing government interference into private business operations without clear legislative mandate.