47 USC § 558 - Criminal and civil liability

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t47/s558"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_prima_facie"
title: "47 USC § 558 - Criminal and civil liability"
title_number: 47
title_name: "TELECOMMUNICATIONS"
section_number: "558"
section_name: "Criminal and civil liability"
chapter_number: 5
chapter_name: "WIRE OR RADIO COMMUNICATION"
subchapter_number: "V–A"
subchapter_name: "CABLE COMMUNICATIONS"
part_number: "IV"
part_name: "Miscellaneous Provisions"
positive_law: false
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2025-08-11"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title VI, § 638, as added Pub. L. 98–549, § 2, Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2801; amended Pub. L. 102–385, § 10(d), Oct. 5, 1992, 106 Stat. 1486.)"
---


# § 558. Criminal and civil liability

section 532 of this title

Nothing in this subchapter shall be deemed to affect the criminal or civil liability of cable programmers or cable operators pursuant to the Federal, State, or local law of libel, slander, obscenity, incitement, invasions of privacy, false or misleading advertising, or other similar laws, except that cable operators shall not incur any such liability for any program carried on any channel designated for public, educational, governmental use or on any other channel obtained under  or under similar arrangements unless the program involves obscene material.

---

**Source Credit**: (June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title VI, § 638, as added Pub. L. 98–549, § 2, Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2801; amended Pub. L. 102–385, § 10(d), Oct. 5, 1992, 106 Stat. 1486.)

## Editorial Notes

### Amendments

1992— inserted before period at end “unless the program involves obscene material”.

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 1992 Amendment

Amendment by  effective 60 days after , see , set out as a note under .

### Effective Date

Section effective 60 days after , except where otherwise expressly provided, see , set out as a note under .