A federal appeals court on Tuesday tossed out a government policy that can lead to broadcasters being fined for allowing even a single curse word on live television, concluding that the rule was unconstitutionally vague and had a chilling effect on broadcasters. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan struck down the 2004 Federal Communications Commission policy, which said that profanity referring to sex or excrement is always indecent.
"By prohibiting all `patently offensive' references to sex, sexual organs and excretion without giving adequate guidance as to what `patently offensive' means, the FCC effectively chills speech, because broadcasters have no way of knowing what the FCC will find offensive," the appeals court wrote. "To place any discussion of these vast topics at the broadcaster's peril has the effect of promoting wide self-censorship of valuable material which should be completely protected under the First Amendment," it added.
"The score for today's game is First Amendment one, censorship zero," said Andrew Jay Schwartzman, policy director of Media Access Project, which joined the case on behalf of musicians, producers, writers and directors.
Actually, I have no idea why you would ask such a thing. The news article is from today, and the song track is from '04... neither has anything to do with the 1960s.
Ethersync
07-13-2010 01:55 PM
Awesome news.
Amputate Your Head
07-13-2010 03:21 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ReGGs
(Post 17332631)
Let's hope there isn't any more errant black titties popping out at the super bowl or it's right back to where we started.
A 7 second delay could have prevented that whole fiasco. Don't know why video was exempt from that basic broadcast rule, but they aren't any more.
D Ghost
07-13-2010 03:28 PM
Screw the FCC - Federal Censorship Corporation
XPays
07-13-2010 08:02 PM
i like this
ottopottomouse
07-14-2010 09:18 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Amputate Your Head
(Post 17332634)
Actually, I have no idea why you would ask such a thing. The news article is from today, and the song track is from '04... neither has anything to do with the 1960s.
It just seems very behind how expletive filled the media is here.
