The United States Supreme Court case, United States et al. v. Midwest Video Corp., 1971, revolved around the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) authority to regulate cable television systems. The FCC had issued rules requiring all cable systems to have facilities for local production and transmission of programs not received off-the-air from broadcast stations - a rule known as "origination". Midwest Video Corporation challenged these rules arguing that they exceeded the FCC's statutory powers and violated First Amendment rights by forcing speech upon them that they might not wish to engage in or be associated with. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the FCC stating it was within its power under the Communications Act of 1934 to issue such regulations. It held that origination did not violate any First Amendment rights because it did not involve editorial control over programming content but merely required technical equipment availability for locally produced material.

In the dissenting opinion for United States et al. v. Midwest Video Corp., Justice Burger, joined by Justices Harlan and Blackmun, argued that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had overstepped its statutory authority in imposing public access requirements on cable television operators. The justices contended that such regulations transformed cable systems into common carriers, a classification they believed was not intended by Congress when it enacted the Communications Act of 1934. They further asserted that this regulatory expansion could potentially stifle innovation within the industry due to increased costs and administrative burdens placed on cable providers. Additionally, they expressed concern about potential First Amendment issues arising from government-mandated content control over private communication channels.