Yep, you read that right. Broadcasters are trying to block a new rule passed by the Federal Communications Commission requiring TV stations to post political ad data online.

This would be the so-called “Public File” showing who’s bought air time, how much they paid and when the ads will air — an important transparency tool, especially in the wake of Citizens United. 

ProPublica reports:

In a petition for review filed Monday with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., the broadcast industry group argues that the rule is “arbitrary, capricious, in excess of the Commission’s statutory authority inconsistent with the First Amendment, and otherwise not in accordance with law.”

The association represents, among others, the parent companies of NBC, CBS, Fox and the broadcasting arm of the Washington Post.

… In its two-page filing Monday, the broadcast association “requests that this Court hold unlawful, vacate, and set aside the FCC Order and grant such other relief as may be necessary and proper under the circumstances.”

Civil Beat recently began weekly visits to Hawaii broadcasters to look at their public files. We’ve been posting our findings and the original documents online.

As we’ve noted, Hawaii is not a top 50 market meaning that local stations can wait until 2014 to begin complying with the new rule.