A federal appeals court struck down a Federal Communications Commission ruling finding that single, "fleeting expletives" in live broadcasts amount to indecent language and can be fined. This comes amid the FCC's indecency crackdown in the wake of the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident. The court ruled that the FCC's practices had an unreasonable chilling effect on free speech and is likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court. The court could uphold the appeals court, effectively revisiting indecency standards for the first time since the 1970s.
It's time for obscenity rules to be revisited. In the early years of broadcast, when the obscenity rules were hashed out, there were few radio and television stations to turn to; they were generally seen as public goods; and people had little control over the programming that streamed into their homes. Now, not only do families have a plethora of alternatives on TV and online, but they also have the ability to control what their children can see on network television.
The other problem with the FCC crackdown is that it stems not from a raft of complaints from individuals personally moved to protect their children but from coordinated campaigns led by groups like the Family Research Council and the Parents Television Council. The happy irony is that their campaigns might have pushed the FCC so far that it will relax indecency regulations, which is a big win for the First Amendment.
-- Monica Potts
