The Federal Communications Commission’s crackdown on indecency was temporarily halted Thursday when a U.S. Appeals Court barred the agency from imposing stricter guidelines pending a court challenge on the matter.
At issue were lawsuits filed by the four major television networks, NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox Broadcasting, over fines they received from the agency for the uttering of certain expletives in several shows, the New York Times reported.
Network executives said they were encouraged by Thursday’s ruling, noting that it means there’s a good chance of overturning the fines.
The commission fined the four networks in March after it examined a number of viewer complaints about language used in several shows that aired between February 2002 and February 2004. The networks then sued the agency, claiming the commission’s action was unconstitutional.
The FCC cited episodes of ABC’s “NYPD Blue,” CBS’s “The Early Show,” and the “Billboard Music Awards,” broadcasts on Fox in 2002 and 2003 for violating indecency standards because of how certain expletives were used.
John Crigler, a Washington-based communications attorney, said the court ruling effectively stops the FCC from using stricter standards for future indecency fines on broadcasters. The agency had set those standards as a result of some of those cases.
But Blair Levin, a former FCC chief of staff, said the ruling was just one of several steps in a long legal process before the matter is ultimately adjudicated.
The agency’s recent actions and fines have reportedly stifled broadcasters from showing certain programming. About two dozen CBS affiliates say they will replace or delay the upcoming airing of the award-winning documentary on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, 9/11 which features some coarse dialogue.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns some CBS affiliated stations, said it would not reconsider its decision to air the documentary even after the new court ruling.
The agency’s March rulings involved 10 different programs, which set a higher standard for the use of expletives in broadcast programs.
