Court Rejects FCC Broadcast Decency Limit

The New York Court of Appeals overruled the FCC, on Monday, who had decided that "fleeting expletives" said on broadcast television were indecent, saying their new policy was "arbitrary and capricious."

The court sent the matter back to the Federal Communications Commission for further proceedings to clarify its policy, saying that some of the FCC rules were "divorced from reality."

The court's decision does not completely nullify the policy, but forces the FCC to review its indecency rules to offer clearer guidelines for broadcasters.

The case started because of a 2006 FCC ruling admonishing News Corp.'s Fox television network for violating decency regulations when the company allowed Cher and Nicole Richie to swear repeatedly during the 2002 and 2003 Billboard Music Awards.

The issue became even more inflamed after singer Janet Jackson exposed her nipple during a halftime performance at the 2004 Super Bowl.

After huge protests from conservative groups, the FCC responded by issuing nearly $8 million in fines against broadcasters that year, more than four times the total of the previous decade combined.

Media companies complain that the standards are arbitrary and difficult to follow while Public Radio Stations and free speech groups protest that the rules limit artistic expression.

Information from The Financial Times was used in this article.