Listics

Denise drags the FCC out of the bag in this coverage yesterday of Michael Powell’s “Fireside Chat.” Here’s a sample of her logging…

[Powell says] Indecency laws apply only to broadcast: not cable TV, not satellite TV, not the Internet. Government has a heightened interest in the use of broadcast spectrum because it is so scarce. The indecency statute was last modified in 1948. You might be shocked if you read it. It’s in the U.S. Criminal Code, and includes provision not just for fines, but up to two years jail time. What the courts have found is indecency is protected speech, but the goverment can regulate the time, place, and manner in which it occurs. They’ve said the statute is constitutional, and Congress (who Powell works for) acknowledges its obligation to enforce it. It’s the law. Stern and others are free to push the envelope. What’s happened in the last few years, in the year 2024 there were 111 public complaints about television. In the first three months of this year, there were 545,000. With the exponential increase in public complaints, you’ve seen an increase in FCC enforcement.