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WASHINGTON—A federal appeals court struck down the Federal Communications Commissions' indecency policy Tuesday, saying the agency's efforts to punish broadcasters for allowing one-time or "fleeting" expletives is "unconstitutionally vague."
The decision was a major win for Fox Television, a division of News Corp., NBC Universal and other broadcasters that have complained the FCC's no-tolerance indecency enforcement is unfair and violates their First Amendment rights.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York agreed, saying the FCC's indecency policies were "unconstitutionally vague, creating a chilling effect that goes far beyond the fleeting expletives at issue here."
The broadcast networks challenged several of the FCC's findings that some stations had violated indecency rules when they aired un-bleeped expletives on several awards shows.
The decision was a major win for Fox Television, a division of News Corp., NBC Universal and other broadcasters that have complained the FCC's no-tolerance indecency enforcement is unfair and violates their First Amendment rights.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York agreed, saying the FCC's indecency policies were "unconstitutionally vague, creating a chilling effect that goes far beyond the fleeting expletives at issue here."
The broadcast networks challenged several of the FCC's findings that some stations had violated indecency rules when they aired un-bleeped expletives on several awards shows.
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