FCC Indecency Policy Tossed Out

Lewd, crude, and SCOTUS-approved—the Supreme Court tossed out Federal Communications Commission prohibitions on nudity and naughty words on Thursday in a decision that avoided ruling on what some saw as First Amendment issues tied to the case. Broadcasters including Fox and ABC had been found in violation of FCC regulations dating back to 2002 and 2003. In the court’s opinion written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the FCC “failed to give Fox or ABC fair notice prior to the broadcasts in question that fleeting expletives and momentary nudity could be found actionably indecent.”Kennedy said that the FCC remained “free to modify its current indecency policy.”