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TV Networks Sue To Overturn FCC Indecency Rulings
April 17, 2006 at 6:02 AM (PT)
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Television networks are stepping up where radio didn't, challenging the FCC's recent indecency rulings in court. The "Big 4" TV networks- CBS, ABC, NBC, and FOX- filed suit late last week in federal appeals courts in a bid to overturn the FCC's rulings in three cases, CBS' "THE EARLY SHOW," ABC's "N.Y.P.D. BLUE," and FOX' "BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS," which contained fleeting uses of obscene words.
In a joint statement, the networks said that "the FCC overstepped its authority in an attempt to regulate content protected by the First Amendment, acted arbitrary and failed to provide broadcasters with a clear and consistent standard for determining what content the government intends to penalize."
The FCC overstepped its authority in an attempt to regulate content protected by the First Amendment ...
The Commission's response, through spokeswoman TAMARA LIPPER, cited precedent in the PACIFICA case (GEORGE CARLIN's "seven words you can't say on television" bit), adding "today, DISNEY, CBS and FOX challenged that precedent and said that they should be able to say two of those words."

