Carlin's Revenge: Supreme Court Should Jettison FCC Decency Regulations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) January 9, 2012 -- * FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE *

Frederick S. Lane
FSLane3@gmail.com
Skype: FSLane3

On Tuesday, January 10, 2012, the United States Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in two related cases, FCC v. Fox Television Stations and FCC v. ABC. Together, the cases squarely present the Supreme Court with the questions of whether the Federal Communication Commission's decency regulations -- and its erratic application of those regulations -- violate the First Amendment protection of free speech and the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of due process.

"It is long past time for the Supreme Court to reverse its 1978 decision in FCC v. Pacifica Foundation and recognize the FCC regulations for what they are: An unconstitutional restriction on free speech and an unnecessarily paternalistic intrusion by government into the media choices of its citizens," said Frederick Lane, an attorney, public speaker, and author of the 2006 book The Decency Wars: The Campaign to Cleanse American Culture.

Lane appeared on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" to discuss his book and the battles over cultural decency in August 2006. [The segment is available on the Comedy Central Web site.]

"The FCC's regulatory ability was created in 1927, when radio was the first and only broadcast medium," Lane said. "The language of the statute was actually derived from even earlier legislation championed by famed censor Anthony Comstock, who in 1873 persuaded Congress to pass the first federal censorship law."

The networks will argue before the Supreme Court that regulations restricting what they can broadcast are unfair and unconstitutional in an era when there are virtually unlimited media choices, none of which are subject to the same limitations. The Supreme Court has long made it clear that the FCC has no regulatory authority over services which consumers purchase, such as cable television and the Internet. Increasingly, however, so-called "broadcast television" is also being received in American homes via cable and satellite, leaving network channels at a competitive and creative disadvantage.

"There is no rational basis for this type of government censorship in this day and age," Lane said. "What it boils down to is an effort by organizations like the Parents Television Council to use the tools of government to impose their narrow view of cultural decency on the entire nation. The decision as to what content is appropriate should be made by parents and their children on a house-by-house basis, and not by five individuals sitting in Washington."

Lane's book, The Decency Wars: The Campaign to Cleanse American Culture, is available on Amazon.com in both hardcover and Kindle formats.

About the Author

Frederick Lane is an author, attorney, expert witness in computer forensics, and lecturer based in Burlington, VT. In addition to his professional activities, he served for ten years on the Burlington School Board, including the last two years as chair.

Lane's sixth most recent book, Cybertraps for the Young, was published in August 2011. It is designed to educate parents and teachers about the legal trouble that children can get into through the use and misuse of electronic devices. Additional material is available on the book's Web site: www.cybertrapsfortheyoung.com.

More information about Lane's other books and professional services is available on his author Web page at www.FrederickLane.com.

More information can be found online at http://www.FrederickLane.com

decency     FCC     law     network television     U.S. Supreme Court