Appeals court upholds FCC's safe harbor.(Brief Article)

Broadcasting & Cable, July, 1995 by Stern, Christopher

The FCC can enforce a ban on the broadcast of indecent programing during times when children are likely to be watching TV or listening to the radio, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington ruled last Friday.

Broadcasters may not air indecent programing between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., the court ruled in a 7-4 decision. But the court also stated that Congress would not run afoul of the Constitution if it broadened the indecency ban to 6 a.m. to midnight.

"There may be a range of safe harbors, each of which will satisfy the 'narrowly tailored' requirement of the First Amendment," said the court. "We are dealing with questions of judgment; and here, we defer to Congress's determination of where to draw the line..."

The National Association of...

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