BILLBOARD - FCC NO LET-UP IN CRACKDOWN ON TV INDECENCY

FCC NO LET-UP IN CRACKDOWN ON TV INDECENCY

The FCC on Wednesday signaled that it will be no less tough on "indecent" broadcasting under the Obama administration than it was under the Bush administration. In an appellate brief, the FCC said it was correct when it reprimanded Fox for airing "vulgar expletives" during a telecast of the Billboard Music Awards in 2002. The commission maintained that its regulations are necessary in order to "ensure that parents can construct 'a relatively safe haven for their children.'" The commission also addressed broadcasters' comments that other content distributors face no such prohibitions. Those providers, it observed, "are required to pay often substantial sums" for access, while broadcasters get theirs "for free on the condition that they operate in the public interest."

29/10/2009