New York City Public Transportation Puts the Brakes on Political Ads

It’s the end of the road for political ads on New York City subways and buses. Last week, the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) voted to prohibit all ads that were political in nature from the city’s public transportation. Salon.com posted more on why these ads have been kicked to the curb.

Interestingly, this decision came a week after the MTA was ordered by a federal judge to display a very controversial ad by the pro-Israel advocacy organization American Freedom Defense Initiative. The MTA argued that the ad could be construed as a call to violence against Jews and requested that the ad be removed. Yet the court rejected this appeal by explaining that the ad may be perceived as offensive by some, but did not contain specific “fighting words.”

So an in effort to avoid potential legal problems, the MTA enacted a ban on all ads for political parties, ballot referendums, or any advertising of a political nature. It appeared to be the most neutral way to steer clear of future political problems.

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