On February 26, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet heard testimony on the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act (H.R. 3717). The subcommittee held a previous hearing and mark-up session on the bill shortly after a controversial incident during the Super Bowl halftime show (see The Source, 2/13/04).
Sponsored by Subcommittee Chair Fred Upton (R-MI), H.R. 3717 would raise the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fine for any incident of indecency tenfold, from $27,500 to $275,000, with a maximum penalty of $3 million for a series of infractions.
Rep. Upton argued that an increase was necessary because, for large broadcast stations, the small fines “seem to be an expected cost of doing business.” Ranking Member Ed Markey (D-MA) agreed, noting, “The rare fine has become somewhat of a joke.”
Rep. Markey pointed out that fines might not be enough to protect children from indecent programming. He said that parents need to be better educated about current television ratings and the V-Chip, a television feature to block certain programming based upon its rating.
Alex Wallau of the ABC Television Network told the subcommittee that ABC and its parent company, The Walt Disney Company, have standards that “go far beyond the [FCC] indecency rules.” He stated, “Every episode of our entertainment programs carries an on-screen rating indicating its age suitability and, when appropriate, a designation indicating the presence of adult language or content…additionally, the rating for each program is encoded within the show to enable blocking by television sets with the v-chip.”
Stressing the importance of the First Amendment, Gail Berman of the Fox Broadcasting Company expressed her opinion that parents must ultimately decide what programming is appropriate for their children. “Parental choice is crucial, given that the views of individual parents about what is appropriate for their particular child to watch at any given age may vary widely, depending on the maturity of the child, the family’s values, or a parent’s views about the quality of a particular show. We feel that educating parents about the V-Chip/ratings system is the most respectful way of ensuring that parents have the tools to make wise decisions for their children,” she stated.
Harry Pappas of Pappas Telecasting Companies argued that Congress and the FCC needed to reevaluate the current indecency rules and remove the ambiguity that currently exits. He stated, “Certainly there is a distinction to be drawn between First Amendment protection of political speech or content that adults choose to view or read, on the one hand, and content that is beaming into the home at all times of the day and night when children are watching what is, after all, still America’s great pastime. If shouting fire in a crowded theatre when not true is impermissible speech, surely so is conduct in speech or image on our airwaves which demonstrably harms the most vulnerable in our society our children.”
The full committee may consider H.R. 3717 as early as next week.
