Groups ask Supreme Court to legalize dirty words on TV

[DainBramaged]

An ideologically diverse coalition of public interest groups has submitted an amicus brief urging the United States Supreme Court to extend full First Amendment protection to broadcast media. The Federal Communications Commission has traditionally regulated the transmission of "indecent" speech and images on radio and television broadcasts. But several liberal and libertarian groups are urging the Supreme Court to strike down these regulations, arguing that technological changes have made the original constitutional justification for these regulations obsolete.

The FCC's power to regulate the content of radio and television broadcasts rests on a 1978 Supreme Court decision. Comedian George Carlin had a famous monologue about the "seven words you can never say on television." When a radio station owned by the Pacifica Foundation broadcast the program, it was fined. And in a 1978 decision, the Supreme Court upheld the fine.

The high court offered two reasons for curtailing the First Amendment protections afforded to broadcast media. First, they were "uniquely pervasive." In the 1970s, broadcast television was the only source of video content for most families. Second, broadcast media were "uniquely accessible to children," available at the flip of a switch. Hence, the government was allowed to impose regulations on broadcast media that would never have withstood constitutional scrutiny if applied to other media such as newspapers or books.

Unconstitutionally vague
The Pacifica court encouraged the FCC to use restraint in enforcing its rules against indecency. At first, the FCC limited its enforcement efforts to the seven words in the Carlin monologue. Later, the agency broadened its enforcement efforts beyond those seven words, but they continued to look the other way when stations broadcast the occasional "fleeting" expletive.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/11/groups-ask-supreme-court-to-legalize-dirty-words-on-tv.ars

[The Straight Story]

1. Fuck yeah (nt)

[HopeHoops]

2. Damn. If Carlin was alive he would SO lobby against that.

I have a tape of his "expanded" list from his mid-80's performance at Carnegie. My two absolute favorites are "The Mongolian Cluster Fuck" and "The One-Eyed Wonder Worm".

[Marrah_G]

5. I love that one

[HopeHoops]

7. I had a party at my trailer (college) and had it on VHS with lines running into each room, including

the bathroom (small B&W on a chair in the bathtub) so nobody would miss anything. I also had the output tied into another VCR and recorded it. I've got it on LaserDisc now, and don't even know where the VHS copy is, but it was one of his best performances ever.

[Initech]

15. I think my favorite from that bit

"69"
"71 which is 69 with two fingers up your ass"
"68 which is you do me and I'll owe you one"

:rofl:

[valerief]

3. Only citizens can't have First Amendment rights. Corporations can and corporations

control the airwaves, so it'll be reversed.

[redqueen]

4. Go'way. Batin.

We need to regulate cable in addition to broadcast tv, not deregulate everything.

There is a public interest to be served by the media.

[arcane1]

13. LMAO! Thanks for that reminder, I needed a laugh this morning

Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to watch "Ow, My Balls!" :rofl:

[Gman]

6. This is unnecessary and just the large networks wanting to avoid fines

Such as for wardrobe malfunctions.

In any event, there needs to be some kind of profanity free zone on TV for the sake of the kids. They pick up foul language soon enough.

[snagglepuss]

8. Exactly. nt

[Liberal Veteran]

9. I don't see why they can't use the SAP function in conjunction with parental locks...

If we can have secondary audio channels, how about a uncensored SAP that be locked by parents?

Sometimes the overdubbing of the "bad words" is so funny it takes me right out of the movie. I couldn't watch the rest of Silence of the Lambs on a non-cable channel because I was laughing so hard at what Multiple Miggs (the guy in the cell next to Hannibal) said in the overdub as Clarice was walking past his cell.

[rawtribe]

11. It's called the V-chip and

parental controls built into every TV and cable-satalite box, use them.

[Gman]

14. Why? Then what's left to watch

in fact, I really don't care to hear it either.

If they have to inject profanity into something to make it humorous, it wasn't funny to begin with. If they have to inject profanity into something to make it more dramatic, it wasn't dramatic to begin with.

[Rabblevox]

10. Shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits. That is all. eom

[tridim]

12. Big ol fuck yea from me.

I hate watching poorly (over)edited movies on cable. They tend to cut entire scenes that are integral to the story.

"Boogie Nights" on VH1 was edited to the point that it wasn't even the same movie. I actually felt insulted watching it.

[Initech]

16. Shit piss fuck cunt cocksucker motherfucker and tits.

And tits doesn't even belong in the list! Sound like a nickname... Or maybe a snack.