Supreme Court to review FCC indecency rule case

The U.S. Supreme Court said on Monday that it will review the Federal Communications Commission's policy which subjects broadcasters to punishment for using obscene words on television.

The Fox broadcasting lawsuit cropped up after the commission reprimanded the broadcaster following use of vulgar language by entertainers Cher and Nicole Richie during an awards show that was aired in 2002 and 2003.

A federal appeals court set aside the FCC rule last year.

The reprimand came after the FCC in 2004 upturned its position and said even ‘fleeting expletives’ exposed the network to sanctions. But in June last year, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the FCC had changed its policy toward fleeting expletives without giving an adequate explanation.

The Bush administration urged the Supreme Court to take the case on appeal, saying the lower court's ruling had left the FCC on shaky ground between protecting children and protecting freedom of speech.

"The court of appeals appears to have put the FCC to a choice between allowing one free use of any expletive no matter how graphic or gratuitous, or else adopting a (likely unconstitutional) across-the-board prohibition against expletives," U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, the Bush administration's top courtroom lawyer, said in his brief to the court.

Fox said it is looking forward to reveal that FCC's indecency enforcement is of an ‘arbitrary nature.’

"FCC's expanded enforcement of the indecency law is unconstitutional in today's diverse media marketplace where parents have access to a variety of tools to monitor their children's television viewing," Fox Broadcasting spokesman Scott Grogin said in a statement.

FCC's uneven standards have left the television and radio stations with no idea on what they can air without fear of an indecency fine.

Dennis Wharton, executive vice president of the National Association of Broadcasters, said the high court "will provide badly needed clarity to both broadcasters and policymakers," in this case.