US Supreme Court agrees to reopen can of dirty words

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Thirty years after the US government commission that monitors communications began enforcing a ban on expletives on the airwaves, it is seeking to extend its policing to also cover swear words that slip out "fleetingly."

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) took a key step toward that goal Monday when the US Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments on the policy of imposing fines on broadcasting groups that air isolated swear words uttered during live shows.

The FCC had taken its case to the highest court in the land after it was slapped down by a court in New York in June for "arbitrarily and capriciously" fining Fox Television after celebrities used curse words on a live broadcast.

First, singer-actress Cher used the "F" word during...