Fox, the home of such shows as Family Guy and The Simpsons, is under fire for its “indecent” broadcasts.
Family Research Council and Focus on the Family have submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations Inc. arguing that the FCC’s regulations against indecent material aired on broadcast TV are constitutional.
“We urge the U.S. Supreme Court to follow its precedents and allow the FCC to regulate indecency on network television. Allowing nudity and ‘fleeting’ expletives to air on public airwaves will open the floodgates for more extreme indecency even at hours when children are watching television. This result is not required under the First Amendment, as the Court has ruled in the past,” says Tony Perkins, president of FRC.
As Perkins sees it, the court has a societal interest in protecting our children from indecent material. It is first and foremost a parent’s responsibility to protect their children from indecency, he continues, but how can they protect their children if the public airwaves are inundating them with profanity and unacceptable sexual content?
“The public airways are just that—public. The networks using them have a moral duty to the American public to responsibly provide content that is acceptable for all viewers,” Perkins says. “This is not a heavy burden for those whose television and radio licenses provide them with substantial profits. There is plenty of room within the FCC’s indecency guidelines to provide excellent entertainment and meaningful art.”
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