Supreme Court Tosses Broadcast Indecency Back to FCC

Narrow decision says the commission's rules are vague

After all the teeth-gnashing and nail-biting over how the Supreme Court might address the First Amendment issues plaguing the Federal Communications Commission's broadcast indecency rules for years, the court turned around Thursday and tossed it all back in the FCC's lap.

In a very narrow opinion, the court unanimously decided that the FCC failed to give Fox or ABC fair notice prior to their network broadcasts that fleeting expletives (on Fox) and brief nudity (on ABC's NYPD Blue) would be considered indecent.

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