CBS Corp. and Fox Television Stations Inc. are calling the Federal Communications Commission’s crackdown on TV profanity and nudity is unconstitutional.
In legal briefs filed by the two U.S. broadcasters in two appeals courts last week, the networks said the agency’s ban on indecency was “unconstitutionally vague” and contradicted past court rulings on similar issues, Reuters reported.
The networks submitted the documents as part of their appeals of FCC decisions expletives uttered on the 2002 and 2003 Billboard Music Awards and the flashing of Janet Jackson’s bare breast during the broadcast of the 2005 Super Bowl violated the agency’s decency standards.
“Indeed, the FCC’s standard is substantively identical to the indeceny restrictions in the Communications Decency Act that the Supreme Court struck down on vagueness grounds,” one document read.
Although no fines were issued after the Billboard awards shows, the FCC put the networks on notice that similar incidents would result in heavy fines.
Last April, Fox and CBS and others sued the FCC on the grounds its indecency rules were unfair and asked an appeals court to invalidate its ruling that all four broadcasts were indecent, on the grounds that the action was unconstitutional.
But the commission upheld its ruling that a Dec. 9, 2002, broadcast of the Billboard Music Awards on Fox, was indecent. On the show, singer Cher used the phrase, “Fuck ‘em.”
It also maintained that a Dec. 10, 2003, Billboard awards show was indecent. On it, reality show star Nicole Richie said: "Have you ever tried to get cow shit out of a Prada purse? It’s not so fucking simple.”
