Could regulation of movie theater noise violate the First Amendment?

By Christine Stuart

HARTFORD, Conn. – A Motion Picture Association of America executive told the Public Safety Committee on Tuesday that its attempt to regulate noise levels in movie theaters would violate the First Amendment.

The legislation seeks to create a standard that says movie theater owners would not be allowed to show a movie or movie trailer with noise levels that exceed 85 decibels. The Commissioner of Administrative Services would be responsible for making sure the theaters are in compliance.

“There are serious First Amendment implications raised with this legislation because if it were to be put into law, the state would be saying how a motion picture or how speech could be presented,” Van Stevenson, senior vice president of government affairs for the MPAA, said Tuesday.

He said once the state starts regulating the noise level of movies, it would have regulate the noise levels at concerts and sporting events.

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