Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, a three-judge panel in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals decided that broadcasters could air profanity anytime during the day on broadcast television.
These activist judges found that the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decency policy violates the First Amendment “because it is unconstitutionally vague” and would create a “chilling effect” for protected speech.
According to Concerned Women for America’s (CWA) CEO, Penny Nance, “This ruling undermines decency standards which have been around for decades and allows broadcasters to barrage our families in their homes with programming that is profane at whatever time, regardless if there are children in the broadcast audience.”
“Broadcasters will have an unfettered license to continue their trend of unhealthy and lurid entertainment. By eviscerating the FCC’s decency policy, these judges thumbed their noses at Congress, the FCC, and American families. Broadcasters filed this case in New York because they knew this was a liberal court unlikely to uphold the decency standards. It is not a surprise that this court invalidated the FCC’s ability to enforce broadcast decency standards.”
Shari Rendall, Director of Legislation and Public Policy, said, “TV and radio will no longer provide parents with a safe harbor for their children. It is astounding that a liberal court has ceded this control to broadcasters who will push the boundaries of decency if they think they can make a buck.”
CWA calls on FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and the Obama Administration to appeal this ruling immediately.