N.Y. Appeals Court Rules Against FCC Decency Regulations
Thursday, Jun. 7, 2007 Posted: 3:22:33PM EST
NEW YORK – Pro-family groups have been expressing their disappointment over a recent vote by a U.S. Court of Appeals, which gave major TV networks a big victory by overruling a federal regulator’s decision to penalize the FOX network over decency standards.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York, by a 2-1 margin, said Monday that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s new standard for defining decency was "arbitrary and capricious."
The new standard, voted on by the FCC in 2006, stated that “unscripted” profanity slips counted as indecency, but the appeal court found the addition to be "a significant departure" from previous rulings.
The law will now be sent back to the FCC, an independent United States government agency that regulates radio and television broadcasting, to clarify its policy unless commission heads decide to challenge the ruling at the Supreme Court.
"We find that the FCC's new policy regarding 'fleeting expletives' represents a significant departure from positions previously taken by the agency and relied on by the broadcast industry," wrote Judge Rosemary Pooler for herself and Judge Peter Hall in the majority decision. "We further find that the FCC has failed to articulate a reasoned basis for this change in policy. Accordingly, we hold that the FCC's new policy regarding 'fleeting expletives' is arbitrary and capricious."
The appeal was a result of a March 2006 ruling that the FCC made against FOX television accusing the station of breaking decency rules. During FOX’s 2002 and 2003 Billboard Music Awards shows, hosts Cher and Nicole Richie had used the “F-word” and the “S-word” during the ceremonies.
The recent decision, which comes one year after the Congress increased broadcast indecency fines, is a big victory for television networks. Although FOX was not fined by the FCC in the current case, had the FCC’s decision not been overrule, a wider door for hefty penalties could have been opened for the future. After last year’s increase of indecency fines, broadcasters that break the regulations could spend $325,000 per violation.
FOX representatives were pleased with the overruling and explained that “government regulation of content serves no purpose other than to chill artistic expression in violation of the First Amendment."
"Viewers should be allowed to determine for themselves and their families, through the many parental control technologies available, what is appropriate viewing for their home,” they added.
Several groups, including the FCC, are arguing against the appeals decision, however, explaining that banning these expletives is in no way “arbitrary.”
"I completely disagree with the Court’s ruling and am disappointed for American families,” said Kevin Martin, chairman of the FCC, in a statement. “I find it hard to believe that the New York court would tell American families that ‘[S-word]’ and ‘[F-word]’ are fine to say on broadcast television during the hours when children are most likely to be in the audience.
