Telecommunications Act of 1996

Enacted by the 104th U.S. Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton on 8 February 1996, the Telecommunications Act is a rewrite of the Communications Act of 1934 and the first major U.S. telecommunications overhaul in six decades. It required incumbent carriers to interconnect with competitors, let Regional Bell Operating Companies enter long-distance markets, deregulated cable-telephone crossover, loosened media-ownership caps, and included the Communications Decency Act, most of which was later struck down, while preserving Section 230's platform-liability shield.