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Ruling on FCC’s Indecency Policy…”Fuckin’ A!”
by John M. Ellison IV
(Reuters) -“The U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s indecency policy is unconstitutionally vague and could create a chilling effect beyond “fleeting expletives” heard on broadcasts, an appeals court ruled on Tuesday in a major win for broadcasting companies. The ruling, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York, arose after Bono, frontman for the rock band U2, used what the FCC calls “the F-word expletive” during the live broadcast of the 2003 Golden Globe Awards.
News Corp’s Fox Television, CBS Corp’s CBS Broadcasting and others challenged an FCC ruling in 2004 that on-air expletives that were not bleeped out were indecent and their use could be penalized.
The FCC regulates radio, television, wire, satellite and cable communications. In a statement, chairman Julius Genachowski said: “We’re reviewing the court’s decision in light of our commitment to protect children, empower parents, and uphold the First Amendment.”
The U.S. Supreme Court had weighed in on the case in 2009, ruling that the FCC had the authority to regulate profanity on the nation’s air waves. The high court declined, however, to decide whether the FCC’s policy violated First Amendment guarantees of free speech and returned the case to the Second Circuit for a decision on that aspect of the policy. “We now hold that the FCC’s policy violates the First Amendment because it is unconstitutionally vague, creating a chilling effect that goes far beyond the fleeting expletives at issue here,” the panel of appeals court judges said in a written ruling on Tuesday.
Broadcasters and some free-speech advocacy groups welcomed the ruling.”
This is one of those esoteric interests I’ve had since I was a kid… literally, like single digit age. I couldn’t understand why some words were okay to say and some were not okay to say. I’d get answers, but never an answer that was satisfactory to my taste. But, I’ve changed and matured…sort of. When it comes to it, I understand that there’s a time and place for all regarding language and subject matter that might be considered blue, ribald and not for mixed company and possible controversial subject matter.
Now, do I have a habit of swearing and using language that could be considered crude? Fuck yeah I do. But, I’ve worked with my foul fucking mouth so fucking every second or third fucking word isn’t a fucking swear fucking word…shit. Hopefully you realize the irony with the previous statement. Actually, when I was younger and half of what I said was aired on broadcast TV, it would have sounded more or less like Morse code.
To be fair, I see the ruling is a double edge sword though. I see swearing and using language that might offend people is to me as delicate as gardening i.e. watering a plant. Too much water can drown your plants and too little can dry them and have them wilt. The key of language, “foul” or not, is context and in it coming together naturally. The potential problem is the idea of someone trying to “hard” to be edgy and it just shakes the rhythm when certain words aren’t necessary for the point you’re trying to get across.
I mean, I feel a “fuck” here a “shit” there wouldn’t hurt anybody if it’s placed right and it’s in context. But, one of the issues here is what happens during a live televised event with people speaking. With that you risk people being well…human. People make verbal errors, speak out of context and make gaffes and because of that, that’s why most programs have a “delay” button, but people like me revel in the idea of those gaffes making it through.
So, in conclusion I see the ruling as fair and just but hopefully people won’t abuse this ruling though.
Source
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66C50O20100713
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, Grant McCool, Paul Thomasch, Diane Bartz, Jeremy Pelofsky; Editing by Robert MacMillan, Steve Orlofsky, Gary Hill)
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Predictably, conservatives are panicked.
I don’t think they read the ruling. Sure, it will have the practical effect of allowing broadcasters to get away with slightly more, in terms of profanity, but it won’t open the floodgates.
All it said is that, if the FCC wants to regulate profanity on the airwaves, they need to craft rules that actually mean something. The FCC’s old rules basically said “anything which we find too offensive is prohibited.” If you’re a broadcaster that wants to make a good-faith effort to obey the law, this isn’t a lot of help, and you won’t find out if the FCC doesn’t like what you’re saying (imposing you to a huge fine) until after you say it. That’s NOT how the rule of law works. Laws must be clear enough to put you on notice of what’s allowed and what isn’t.
The FCC now actually has to put a little thought and work into its indecency rules, to make them clear and specific. Boo effin’ hoo.