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The Supreme Court deleted expletives left and right Tuesday in narrowly upholding a government policy that threatens broadcasters with fines over the use of even a single curse word on live television.
The Supreme Court spent an hour on Tuesday talking about dirty words on television without once using any or making plain how it would decide whether the government could ban them.
The Supreme Court will decide whether it is indecent when some foul-mouthed celebrity drops the "F-word" on live television, stepping into its first major broadcast indecency case in 30 years.
Comparing its dilemma to a Greek myth, lawyers for the Federal Communications Commission have formally asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court's rejection of the agency's policy on broadcast profanity.
An appeals court said a new federal policy against accidentally aired profanities on TV and radio was invalid, noting that vulgar language had become so common that even President Bush has been heard using expletives.
The Federal Communications Commission changed its mind and dismissed charges against two television shows it had deemed indecent but upheld its findings against two others, according to a court filing submitted late Monday night.
Supreme Court may rethink broadcast indecencyAwards shows have revived the issue of what may be indecent on the public airwaves. The jurists haven't ruled on the matter in 30 years.
Frist Pushes Senate to Pass Bill on IndecencySenate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) is trying to push through a bill that would increase indecency fines on broadcasters and threaten to take away their licenses after three violations.
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