Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Case Involving FCC Indecency Rule

SUPREME COURT (AP) — The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to the Federal Communication Commission’s policy on broadcast indecency.

Fox Broadcasting, along with ABC, CBS and NBC, is challenging FCC policy that allows fines for so-called “fleeting expletives” uttered during live broadcasts.

The case before the court deals specifically with two airings on Fox of the “Billboard Music Awards.” NBC is involved in a separate challenge after U-2 lead singer Bono used the F-word during a Golden Globe Awards show in 2003.

CBS is challenging a fine imposed for Janet Jackson’s infamous “wardrobe malfunction” during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show.

The FCC has appealed a New York federal court ruling that nullified the agency’s enforcement of the profanity rule. In that decision, the judges said that the FCC had failed to adequately explain to the networks that it had changed its policy.

The case will be heard in the fall.