Posted on 04/04/2013 4:13:16 PM PDT by Morgana
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 4, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The FCC is seeking comments from the public as they consider relaxing their obscenity standards for broadcast television and radio. If adopted the new, lower standards would allow brief “non-sexual” nudity and isolated expletives even during prime time, when most families are typically watching with their children.
Currently, broadcasters face heavy fines for violations of the indecency policy, which bans strong curse words and most nudity. But as media culture grows coarser, the backlog of reported offenses has grown unmanageable for the FCC, leading Chairman Julius Genachowski to order the Enforcement Bureau to reduce the backlog by focusing only on “egregious cases” and dismissing as many of the others as they can.
Since September 2012, the Bureau has reduced its case load by 70 percent, according to a memo released Monday by the FCC. More than a million indecency complaints have been dismissed, many of them because the statute of limitations had expired or they were considered “too stale to pursue.”
Now, the Commission is seeking public comment on whether or not they should permanently relax the indecency standard to include only the most egregious offenses.
Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association, is urging those concerned about the impact of the proposed policy on children to take advantage of the public comment period and tell the FCC not to relax the rules.
“American society is moving further and further away from the Biblical standards of morals and decency set by God, to the point that we have to worry about what our children view in the supermarket checkout, in their school textbooks, and now even in their own homes on television and radio,” said Wildmon. “We’re urging the FCC to uphold high decency standards in entertainment in order to protect America’s children and families.”
Specifically, the FCC is asking citizens to weigh in on how much cursing is too much, and whether nudity should be treated differently than swearing. Citizens are also invited to offer their thoughts on anything else having to do with the indecency standards.
The filing period lasts only through the end of the month.
Comments may be submitted to the FCC online by using the Electronic Filing System and referencing Proceeding No. 13-86, or by referencing GN Docket No. 13-86 through mail at:
Commission’s Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554
For additional instructions and ways to contact the FCC, read their press release here.
You are free to go out on your own private property, build a road and not have a speed limit at all.
You are free to go out on your own private property, build a road and not have no speed limit at all.
It’s up to the TV stations to ensure that the viewers are all adults.”
That’s akin to saying car manufacturers must make sure all drivers are ‘legal’, don’t drink, don’t text, etc.
No. It’s up to those that purchase the tool to make sure it’s used properly. That means the PARENTS being responsible for their own brood, as they should already be.
Damn, how far the Republic has fallen from personal responsibility.
However, that is a decision that should be left up to the net
works, as our Federal Government has no business dictating policy to private industry.
***
It is my understanding that the reason the FCC was given this sort of control over what goes over the broadcast airwaves is that the American people are said to be the actual owners of said airwaves. The networks are required to get licenses to use our airwaves. These rules do not apply to the cable channels.
Yes, you are correct about the FCC and the public airwaves.
However, the same could be said about companies that uses federal roads to transport goods. Ask any transmission company about federal regulation of pipelines or ask any trucker about the regulations that are imposed on them.
Federal regulation is out of control and detrimental to business.
The Founding States had decided that the BoR's prohibition on certain government powers to regulate our basic freedoms did not apply to the states. In fact, Thomas Jefferson had clarified that the Founding States made the 1st and 10th Amendments in part to clarify that the states can reasonably regulate the press regardless that the states had made the 1st Amendment to prohibit such powers entirely to Congress.
"3. Resolved that it is true as a general principle and is also expressly declared by one of the amendments to the constitution that ‘the powers not delegated to the US. by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively or to the people’: and that no power over the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, or freedom of the press being delegated to the US. by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, all lawful powers respecting the same did of right remain, & were reserved, to the states or the people: that thus was manifested their determination to retain to themselves the right of judging how far the licentiousness of speech and of the press may be abridged without lessening their useful freedom, and how far those abuses which cannot be separated from their use should be tolerated rather than the use be destroyed (emphasis added); …" --Thomas Jefferson, Kentucky Resolutions, 1798.
And regardless that FDR's activist justices essentially claimed that the 14th Amendment applied the 1st Amendment's prohibition on Congress's power to regulate freedom of press to the states, these justices wrongly ignored that John Bingham, the main author of Section 1 of 14A, had officially clarified that 14A took away no state powers.
"The adoption of the proposed amendment will take from the States no rights (emphasis added) that belong to the States." --John Bingham, Appendix to the Congressional Globe, 1866. (See second half of first column.)"No right (emphasis added) reserved by the Constitution to the States should be impaired…" --John Bingham, Appendix to the Congressional Globe, 1871. (See first half of first column.)
"Do gentlemen say that by so legislating we would strike down the rights of the State? God forbid. I believe our dual system of government essential to our national existance." --John Bingham, Appendix to the Congressional Globe (See second half of third column.)
So the states have the 10th Amendment protected power to prohibit the broadcast of nudity and profanity within their borders, imo, regardless that the FCC is arguably hiring former TSA employees concerning possibly less restrictive regulations.
Regarding the FCC, note that the Founding States made Sections 1-3 of Article I of the Constitution to clarify that Congress has a monopoly on federal legislative powers whether it wants it or not. But the reason that broadcasting companies comply with regulations made by constitutionally undefined "independent federal regulatory agencies" like the FCC (EPA, etc.) is because citizens have never been taught that Congress cannot delegate is legislative powers to nonelected bureaucrats imo. And by establishing such rogue federal agencies, not only is Congress wrongly protecting federal legislative powers from the wrath of the voters in defiance of Sections 1-3 of Article I, but such agencies are arguably a way for corrupt Congress to avoid its Article V requirement to petition the states for specific new powers via constitutional amendments.
Getting back to nuditiy and profanity on the airwaves, based on Jefferson's clarification of 10A-protected state power to reasonably regulate the press, power now limited by 14A, I think that the states have the power to refuse the broadcast of televised nudity and profanity within their borders as much as they can prohibit things like certain plants and drugs from crossing inside their borders.
Boy, when you started down this path, I figured it wouldn’t take long before you were raked over the coals.
Unfortunately, even here, more than not, people only pay lip service to the Free Market and Freedom. They are more than willing to allow the imperial federal gov’t to usurp powers and begin dictating this and that...until their ox, of course.
The Republic is on the decline. Been so for easily 100 years (happy b-day Income Tax!!). More so that our great, grand and parents allowed W. Wilson, FDR and LBJ to bring Socialism upon our soil. Just read a few SS threads *rolls eyes* to see how far we’ve fallen.
but maybe with the gayness agenda will have more boys and men showing their stuff.......
funny how that works...
Do you really want the Federal Government regulating what is broadcasts by TV networks entertainment and news divisions?
Personally I don’t care what they put on TV. I don’t watch any regular shows except MeTV, which are old shows with no nudity or profanity. I don’t have little children to worry about, but I feel for parents who do these days. We have a very morally corrupt generation already. Can’t see how this will help. You sound like a libertarian. No laws are necessary. Let everyone do their own thing. I don’t agree but at this point in my life I don’t care anymore. Destroy what little is left of our culture.
Any one that believes that has not watched TV recently. The move toward absolute porn has been underway for some time. People naked in bed humping away and Fbombs too numerable to edit out.
All this after 10:00 pm of course. </sarcasm>
Amen.
Self delusion run deep in your family, or did you just happen on to it by yourself.
The best regulation is the regulation imposed by the consumer.
And I don’t think consumers would watch hard core porn in broadcast TV.
That is not a libertarian view.
Same old tired logic as the Clinton's presented. You sure you are on the correct forum. This is a Christian, Conservative owned site.
No the TV channels transmit into people’s homes. They are responsible for what they push at people.
If a TV channel shows an X rated movie, they need to ensure the age of everyone watching,.
But it's OK when we're legislating morality.
/sarcasm
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