WASHINGTON — Seeking to force federal regulators to more clearly define indecency violations, broadcasters are expected to bring a legal test case as early as next month, according to industry officials.
Broadcasters hope a lawsuit could bring a ruling that would force the Federal Communications Commission to change its ways. The agency has drawn criticism for its allegedly inconsistent enforcement of indecency rules and for yielding to pressure from public interest groups.
"I think the government is more vulnerable to an indecency challenge than they've ever been before," said Kurt A. Wimmer, a Washington communications lawyer.
The push to bring a new legal challenge comes as Congress is seeking to boost indecency penalties at least tenfold to as much as $500,000 an incident. It also coincides with a pending change in leadership at the FCC, where Republican Kevin J. Martin, considered tough on indecency, is the leading candidate to replace Chairman Michael K. Powell, who is stepping down.
Broadcasters haven't brought a major indecency or obscenity case since 1978, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the FCC's authority to issue indecency fines. That case involved a Pacifica radio station's airing in 1973 of comedian George Carlin's "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" routine.
FCC officials currently define broadcast indecency as "patently offensive" material that depicts "sexual or excretory organs or activities." Shows that are aired between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when children are likely to be in the broadcast audience, are subject to enforcement.
Broadcasters have long argued that indecency laws are vague, and thus unconstitutionally restrict free speech. They say the restrictions are especially unfair given that similar rules do not apply to areas such as cable, satellite and the Internet.
The murky rules also provide an opening, broadcasters believe, for such groups as the Parents Television Council, a Los Angeles organization responsible for the vast majority of indecency complaints received by the FCC. Critics say the group exerts undue clout in prodding regulators to act on specious cases.
Industry lawyers who are spearheading the possible legal action say they are focusing on two promising cases.
One is a reprimand NBC received for airing U2 singer Bono's use of a sexual expletive during an acceptance speech at the 2003 Golden Globe awards show.
