RSS 2.0 FeedFederal Court Says No To The Nanny State
by Doug MataconisA Federal Appeals Court in New York ruled today that the Federal Communications Commission overstepped it’s authority when it tried to punish Fox Television for statements over which it clearly had no control:
A federal appeals court tossed out an indecency ruling against Rupert Murdoch’s Fox television network today, sending a stern rebuke to the Federal Communications Commission and groups that seek tighter federal regulation of the airwaves.
In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York ruled that the FCC went too far in issuing a 2006 indecency decision against Fox for separate incidents in 2002 and 2003 when singer Cher and celebrity Nicole Richie, respectively, both uttered the f-word on live television.
In 2004, the agency ruled that the broadcast use of the f-word almost always violates federal indecency statutes. Because the Fox incidents occurred before that ruling, the agency did not call for a fine against the network but did rule that the broadcasts were indecent.
Fox appealed the FCC ruling to the 2nd Circuit, saying that the profanities were fleeting and that the FCC’s new rule set a dangerous precedent for clamping down on free speech. Some First Amendment lawyers saw the Fox appeal as a possible test case to challenge the government’s ability to patrol the public airwaves at all.
Today the court sided with Fox, writing that the FCC’s “new policy sanctioning ‘fleeting expletives’ is arbitrary and capricious.”
In a separate case, CBS Corp. is challenging the FCC’s indecency ruling against the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, in which singer Janet Jackson’s right breast was briefly exposed. That case is pending.
Anyone want to guess what will happen with that case ?
You might want to read what Ron Paul has to say about The Nanny State in The Ron Paul Library.
It’s a collection of more than 700 articles and speeches by Ron Paul, sorted by topic.
Take a look through “Freedom and Personal Liberty” and “The Role of Government” topics.
Comment by Carl — June 4, 2007 @ 6:47 pmNot sure you can honestly say the network clearly doesn’t have any control. The seven-second delay has long been used to ensure that language meets FCC mandates. SNL has employed such a delay for more than 30 years. Why do the networks suddenly oppose using this method?
Comment by Matt — June 4, 2007 @ 9:10 pm