FCC Appeals 'Fleeting Expletives' Decision

[Newsjock]

Source: Wall Street Journal

The Federal Communications Commission asked a federal appeals court Thursday to reconsider its recent decision to toss the government's restrictions on indecent speech on TV and radio broadcasts.

The FCC's decision to appeal the case instead of crafting new indecency rules could set the stage for a challenge in the Supreme Court to the government's authority to restrict speech on the airwaves.

... "The three-judge panel's decision in July raised serious concerns about the Commission's ability to protect children and families from indecent broadcast programming," said FCC general counsel Austin Schlick in a statement. "The Commission remains committed to empowering parents and protecting children, and looks forward to the court of appeals' further consideration of our arguments."

... In July, a three-judge panel unanimously ruled that the FCC's indecency policy was unconstitutional, and created a "chilling effect that goes far beyond the fleeting expletives at issue here."

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575453492807569162.html

[villager]

1. This would be *Obama's* FCC panel, asking for Bush-era rules reinstated?

And we fucking voted for what, last election time?

[Renew Deal]

2. Clinton's did the same thing

The FCC feels the need to do this sort of stuff.

[villager]

6. So this is another thing that "centrist" Dems consistently get wrong, too?

:shrug:

[Tesha]

10. Wouldn't it be easier to cite the things they get right?

"Nothing."

Tesha

[Renew Deal]

13. Not really about ideology

The department feels the need to do something. Make themselves look busy.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Wilber_Stool]

4. Last time I used that word, they wacked my pee- pee.......n/t

[awoke_in_2003]

9. "they wacked my pee- pee"

yeah, but somebody told me you liked it :rofl:

[Wilber_Stool]

12. Well, they did it to him too.........n/t

[alp227]

5. Right-wing paranoia dominates defense of the FCC policy.

When the court issued its decision, groups like Parents Television Council were getting all paranoid and began screaming: "Uncensored episodes of The Sopranos will be shown after school!" When in fact the court case is dealing with expletives from live events, not scripted/taped programs (WBAI broadcast a tape-delayed version of George Carlin's 7 Dirty Words monologue, if I recall correctly.)

Just like how conservatives say that allowing same-sex marriage will lead to a slippery slope of sexual deviances like bestiality and incest. Or how hate crimes bills will censor churches. Or how the Fairness Doctrine will ban Rush Limbaugh from the radio. Or how health care reforms will roll out death panels.

The reason why you hear bleeps and see blurs all the time on broadcast networks and basic cable channels is that the standards & practices departments go out of their ways to make sure that you don't hear naughty words or see private parts. Until the fundamentalists in America can shut the up, I won't be seeing The Sopranos uncut on NBC primetime anytime soon. I still think that broadcasters should edit content that's shown between 6AM-10PM (with certain exceptions, such as Saving Private Ryan) as a compromise.

[AlbertCat]

11. hear bleeps and see blurs

Which just calls more attention to it.... and leaves it to people's imagination....YIKES!

That's what Kimmel's "Unnecessary Censorship " is all about!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOaoMvkWDeY

[Politicalboi]

7. The cable and dish companies

Need to have a tier that allows what channels you want to pay for and how many, and how it's sent to you. I have no children, and shouldn't have to watch TV at 5 pm edited for children. I don't watch porn, but I can't watch The Daily Show without it being bleeped. It's not fair for the rest of us to watch TV for children, when those same kids are exposed to foul language in their own home, and sometime directed at them. My guess would be that children learn foul language at home, not from TV.

[alp227]

8. The Daily Show is bleeped online too.

I don't have cable, so I watch Comedy Central shows online. However, some Daily Show "extended interviews" are posted online sans censorship and have a warning title card. South Park episodes are also uncut on the Southparkstudios.com site.

[Milo_Bloom]

14. Fuck um!