Decency Rules Don’t Deal with Violence, FCC May Tell Hill
The FCC may stand fast on its policy of not fining TV broadcasters for violence in a report expected soon and sought by Congress in 2004, said an FCC official. The report will surface as commissioners, legislators and advocacy groups voice concern over what they deem a growing problem (CD Jan 12 p11). The report answers a request by lawmakers including Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.), then House Commerce Committee chmn., that the Commission study violent programming’s effect on children. Chmn. Martin has circulated a draft for colleagues’ comments, said FCC officials. Martin decides what the report contains, since it’s not a rulemaking, said a staffer.
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One finding: Congress hasn’t authorized the Commission to regulate violent programming under indecency law. The report by the Media Bureau “recognizes that violent content is a protected kind of speech under the First Amendment,” said a Commission staffer in another office. The document probably will discuss the difficulty of defining violence as a means of consistently identifying it, the staffer said. The report may declare that only Congress can craft such a definition, we're told. It’s unclear if the report recommends such legislation.
There’s Hill interest in cracking down on TV violence, judging from recent remarks by lawmakers in both parties, a Hill aide said. In 2006, with bipartisan backing, President Bush signed a law raising maximum indecency fines 10-fold, but Congress isn’t certain to label violence indecent. The topic could come up at a Feb. 1 Senate Commerce Committee hearing, where Martin and the other commissioners likely will field queries on an array of subjects that includes ownership and perhaps indecency, lobbyists said. “We're likely to see a lot of interest in this -- whether we get a law or not” on indecency, First Amendment lawyer John Crigler said: “Congress might well give them that authority.” Regulating violence runs the risk of violating broadcasters’ Constitutional rights, said lawyers.
The FCC report’s expected comments fit legal precedent that excludes the Commission from fining broadcasters for airing violent programming, Crigler and other lawyers said. The agency has found programs indecent for gratuitous sex and language, and several cases are being appealed. Expletives aren’t covered by the Communications Act as indecent, said lawyers. “Violence, while problematic in terms of societal goals, needs to have some underpinning” for enforcement to occur, Stuart Shorenstein said: “and that’s what I think the FCC is questioning, quite correctly.” The FCC might be able to fine broadcasters for violent programming it considers not to be in the public interest, Crigler said, “but the First Amendment issues here are so profound that I think it would be reluctant to do that without explicit guidance from congress… New legislation would be required in order for the Commission to adopt some regulations.”
NAB, NCTA and other trade groups have won praise for efforts to educate parents about V-chips to filter out violent and other objectionable programming from key lawmakers including Senate Commerce Committee Co-Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska). In July, industry unveiled 2 public service announcements telling parents to “be the boss” of kids’ TV watching, part of a $300 million campaign. The campaign will last at least another year, and new ads will be unveiled in Feb. for English and Spanish speakers, said a spokeswoman for the Ad Council. The group helped coordinate the ads and within a few months will study whether they're successful, she said. Signs of success could include a survey finding more TV viewers aware of V-chips and other filtering tools after seeing the ads, she added.
The FCC will say V-Chips don’t do enough to shield kids from violent content, according to an agency official. The Commission may also say TV ratings don’t do enough. Some say industry must do more. “If broadcasters do not step up to the plate and self-police, I don’t think any of us should be surprised if Congress steps in,” Comr. Copps said this month.