Broadcast Decency Bill Idled

By Doug Carlson - Dec 4, 2007 - comment

Few people can recall which team won Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004 (New England Patriots), but most people, football fans or not, still remember the halftime entertainment, a “wardrobe malfunction” by pop star Janet Jackson with the assistance of co-performer Justin Timberlake.

In response to that and other disturbing incidents, some lawmakers have since taken strides to ensure that broadcasters can be held accountable and fined for airing indecent speech or images.

Last summer, the Senate Commerce Committee passed the Protecting Children from Indecent Programming Act (S. 1780), which would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to “maintain a policy that a single word or image may constitute indecent programming” on broadcast television and radio.

Unfortunately, that bill is collecting dust right now. The committee chairman, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI), and ranking member, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK)—both sponsors of the legislation—have allowed S. 1780 to sit idle, rather than moving it forward to the full Senate.

Meanwhile, appeals courts are hearing cases on indecency that could swing wide the door for broadcasters to air vulgar content at all hours of the day, absent a law such as the Protecting Children from Indecent Programming Act.

In fact, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has asserted that network broadcasters should have the right to air programming with the F-word and S-word. The court ruled in June that the FCC overstepped its authority when it declared its intent to sanction the Fox Network for airing Cher’s use of the F-word during the 2002 Billboard Music Awards and Nicole Richie’s use of the F-word and S-word a year later at the awards program. The 2-1 ruling stated that the FCC could not sanction networks for “fleeting” expletives.

In September, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on the Janet Jackson case, and a decision is expected to be handed down early next year.

Broadcasters have stepped up arguments for their “right” to air vulgar content, particularly in the wake of a law enacted last year that pressures networks to clean up their act by targeting their pocketbooks. The Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act increases maximum possible fines for each indecency violation tenfold, from a laughable $32,500 to a more burdensome $325,000. But unless the FCC has authority to maintain a policy that a single word or image may be considered indecent, the stiff fines would be meaningless and unenforceable.

Parents should not have to shield their children’s eyes or click the mute button when watching broadcast television during family hours. However, future “wardrobe malfunctions” and utterances of indecent speech are sure to be broadcast into America’s living rooms during prime-time viewing hours unless Congress passes legislation that would restore regulatory authority to the FCC.

If you believe the family hours for broadcast television and radio should be safe for your family, please urge Sens. Inouye and Stevens to move S. 1780, the Protecting Children from Indecent Programming Act, for consideration by the Senate before Christmas.

Sen. Daniel Inouye, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman
202-224-3934

Sen. Ted Stevens, Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member
202-224-3004

Further Learning

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