Court Smacks 'Arbitary' FCC

[MacNut]

WASHINGTON -- In a victory for TV networks but a setback for efforts to shield children from coarse language, a federal court ruled Monday that broadcasters couldn't be penalized for expletives that were considered impromptu.

The appeals judges in New York repudiated the Federal Communications Commission's recent crackdown on broadcast indecency, calling its efforts "arbitrary and capricious."

Television networks have long complained that enforcement of the rules is inconsistent and unpredictable. Although the court's 2-1 decision sent the issue back to the FCC for rethinking, the strong rebuke prompted some advocacy groups and lawmakers to urge the agency to appeal to the Supreme Court.

"We are very pleased with the court's decision and continue to believe that government regulation of content serves no purpose other than to chill artistic expression in violation of the 1st Amendment," a statement from FOX reads. The case specifically involved two FOX broadcasts, and other networks joined in the lawsuit.

At issue has been a series of unscripted obscenities uttered in recent years by such stars as Bono, Cher and Nicole Richie during live award shows. Networks argued that they shouldn't be punished when an expletive slips through their safeguards.

http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-courtrejectsfccprofanityrulings,0,1700064.story?coll=zap-tv-headlines

[PlaceofDis]

good news in my book. especially since i don't view any word as being a 'swear word'

[LethalWolfe]

Yay for common sense.


Lethal

[IJ Reilly]

good news in my book. especially since i don't view any word as being a 'swear word'

The hell you don't. ;)

I wonder, does this mean we will no longer see tape delays on all live events?

[MacNut]

The hell you don't. ;)

I wonder, does this mean we will no longer see tape delays on all live events?nopeBut a network executive, who did not want to be named because the companies were working jointly on the case, said broadcasters would still use delays to try to bleep out expletives. "It just means on the rare occasions where we might make a mistake or error despite our best efforts, it's going to be harder for the commission to cite that as indecency," the executive said.

[SMM]

I do not have kids, so I usually stay clear of 'child raising issues'. I am around kids all of the time, and am more mindful of what I say then (not just about profanity). I seem to recall growing up, it was always a battle of us kids, and our parents, making sure we did not swear in front of the other. The motives were different. They thought they were protecting us from what we really already knew, and we were trying to escape the bar of soap.

[yojitani]

This is a step in the right direction. American prudery about swear words and sex and tolerance of violence on TV is downright stupid. Just a few nights ago I was flipping through channels and came across a censored Chris Rock stand up. :confused: It's just not funny! Not everyone can be Bill Cosby.

[In acknowledgment of SMM's comment, that I DO have young kids and oddly I have to watch my mouth mainly so they don't get in trouble at school. There is also the concern that they don't really understand the meaning and effect of swear words, but from a parenting point of view, I find the level of violence that they are exposed to through cartoons and 'in' movies to be much more worrisome. ]

[solvs]

good news in my book. especially since i don't view any word as being a 'swear word'

Not even the R word?

I suspect they'll try to curb it amongst themselves so as not to get angry letters and be sued and/or boycotted. But then they'll realize that they get more viewers by swearing and showing hints of nudity. Therefor, more money. And before you know it, they'll all slowly move into showing nothing but torture and kitty porn. You heard me.

But yeah, not really.

[Swarmlord]

I know this may surprise some of you, but I'm against censoring cable and satellite programming at all. I would have some language restrictions, but only on the four or five broadcast channels that the alphabet channels use.

When you pay for cable, you should be able to see and hear everything and if you don't want your kid to see or hear it, then it's your responsibility to make sure they don't.