Congress might have role to play in keeping indecent content off airwaves

Congress might have a role to play in keeping curse words and nudity off the airwaves after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lost ground in the fight over indecency.

Two court decisions have impaired the FCC’s ability to fine broadcasters for so-called indecent content. The FCC chairman’s office has said little about how it plans to move forward, according to Dan Isett, director of public policy for the Parents Television Council (PTC). 

That’s why part of the strategy for PTC and others is to turn to Capitol Hill in hopes that Congress will pass a resolution commenting on the fact that, in Isett’s view, the “entire broadcast indecency regime” has essentially been “done away with.”

Advocates for indecency enforcement say they might have an ally in House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), who has authored indecency bills in the past. 

Upton also suggested in a memo circulated during his chairmanship bid that he will continue to have an eye on this issue.

He promised to support “traditional family values,” noting he has “long fought to curb indecency in public broadcasting, protect our kids from online predators and promote an accurate and transparent video game rating system.”

That’s an encouraging perspective for the PTC. “We’ve always argued the thing is to just wait until after 10 p.m. to put the dirty stuff on,” Isett said. 

Isett said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and ranking member Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) have also been strong on indecency. 

In the meantime, the broadcast community is waiting for the next step in the litigation process, which could see indecency go all the way up to the Supreme Court.