Caplin Drysdale Chartered Caplin Drysdale esas eee. te" AT att $s | somatic September 20, 2018 VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL Re: _ Response to Letter from Clyde Snow & Sessions, P.C. ‘To Whom It May Concern: Tunderstand you have received a letter from attorneys representing Ben McAdams’ political supporters, who threaten legal action under Utah’s Personal Identity Act unless an advertisement that criticizes their favored candidate is removed. The advertisement, which is sponsored by Friends of Mia Love, features these McAdams supporters’ side profiles from a distant perspective for a mere two seconds of the ad without mentioning their names. ‘Their attorneys nonetheless demand that the ad be removed from the airwaves. Settled law shows that this claim is meritless, The Utah Supreme Court has already said in this, very context that any “incidental use” of a person’s image is not actionable under the Personal Identit Act. The Court, in that instance, reviewed a case brought by three postal workers against Senator Orrin Hatch for using their photo in his re-election campaign materials and concluded there that “the incidental use of a person's name or likeness is not, as a matter of law, actionable as an appropri a person's name or likeness...” Cox v. Hatch, 761 P.2d 556, 565 (Utah 1988). Here, the ad in question features only the fleeting, distant, and unidentified image of the McAdams supporters. It is the paradigmatic example of “incidental use.” And these individuals’ objection is nothing more than a political ploy by the McAdams campaign and its allies to silence criticism. Unfortunately for Ben McAdams and his supporters, your Station is legally unable to heed any demand to remove the ad. As you know, a Federal Communications Commission licensee is prohibited from editing, censoring, or removing any advertisement sponsored by a legally qualified candidate. 47 US.C.A. § 315(a); 47 CER. § 73.1941 (a). See also Becker v. F.C.C., 95 F.3d 75, 84 (D.C. Cir. 1996) (discussing the strict enforcement of the “no censorship” rule for licensees). This important rule, which protects Free Speech in the course of a political campaign, covers any and all advertisements sponsored by Friends of Mia Love. Please contact me (msanderson@capdale.com, 202-527-0674) if you have any questions regarding this matter. Se Matthew T--Sanderson Member Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered