Indecency Update

Congress recently passed the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005 (S.193) which will increase the penalties for broadcasting obscene, indecent or profane language. Licensees who broadcast indecent, profane, or obscene language outside of the 10pm-6am safe harbor will be subject to fines of up to $325,000 for each violation or each day of a continuing violation.
The Washington Post reports: The Price for On-Air Indecency Goes Up: “The bill, called the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act, was passed unanimously by the Senate last month and cleared the House by a vote of 379-35. President Bush has vowed to sign the bill into law; it would allow the Federal Communications Commission to powerfully punish over-the-air broadcasters for airing raunchy content.”
During the first quarter of 2006, the FCC received 275,131 indecency/obscenity/profanity complaints, up from the 44,109 received during the fourth quarter of 2005.

Mediaweek reports that CBS is challenging the validity of many of the filed complaints: CBS Stations: Indecency Complaints Invalid : “Virtually none of those who complained to the Federal Communications Commission about the teen drama Without A Trace actually saw the episode in question, CBS affiliates said as they asked the agency to rescind its proposed record indecency fine of $3.3 million. All of the 4,211 e-mailed complaints came from Web sites operated by the Parents Television Council and the American Family Association, the stations said in a filing on Monday.”
Finally, the Colbert Report (safely on cable) takes on the indecency regulations: The Word: Great F***ing Idea.