U.S. POLICY: THE COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934
William F. Buckley, March 14, 2004
By Judith Silver, Esq.
- This legislative act remains the cornerstone of American television policy six decades after its initial passage. Though often updated through amendments, and itself based on the pioneering Radio Act of 1927, the 1934 legislation which created the Federal Communications Commission has endured remarkably well through an era of dramatic technical and social change.
- CENSORSHIP; INDECENT LANGUAGE
SEC. 326. Nothing in this Act shall be understood or construed to give the Commission the power of censorship over the radio communications or signals transmitted by any radio station, and no regulation or condition shall be promulgated or fixed by the Commission which shall interfere with the right of free speech by means of radio communication. No person within the jurisdiction of the United States shall utter any obscene, indecent, or profane language by means of radio communication.
William F. Buckley, March 14, 2004
- The Janet Jackson display at the Super Bowl crossed the threshold and awakened some latent sense of decorum. The public sense of it was that to bare a breast as part of the half-time entertainment at the largest annual sports event in the world was an excess. An excess is defined as something the public thinks of as inappropriate and perhaps, even, wrong.
The protests overruled the general public unconcern over semi-nakedness. Although bared breasts are increasingly routine, there is still a consensus against public striptease. The sense of it is, Okay, do this kind of thing and more ? much more ? on the Playboy Channel and in Las Vegas, but draw the line somewhere this side of the Super Bowl. It isn't obvious which authorities to appeal to in the matter of displays at ordinary football games, but inasmuch as this one was carried on television, the Federal Communications Commission was invoked. It has the power, given to it by Congress and reinforced on Thursday, to uphold some standards, even if they are by and large in shreds, that hold out against exhibitionism, obscenity, and blasphemy.
By Judith Silver, Esq.
- Contrary to common perception, there are actually numerous forms of speech not entitled to First Amendment protection, including speech which creates a clear and present danger of imminent lawless action; speech which contains narrowly predefined "fighting words"; written or spoken untruths (libel, slander, fraud) which may be punished by civil suit; speech which is false or deceptive advertising; speech which threatens others; and restrictions in which the government can demonstrate a "narrowly tailored" "compelling interest".
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