Technology outpaces FCC in crackdown on obscenity

0 Comments | USA TODAY, March, 2008

Raise your hand if you remember the December 2002 Billboard Music Awards on Fox-TV where Cher accepted a "Lifetime Achievement" trophy. No? How about U2 lead singer Bono's acceptance speech at the Golden Globes on NBC the next month?

Cher and Bono each uttered an expletive that triggered a government crackdown on TV broadcasters and a five-year battle that landed at the U.S. Supreme Court this month. The court will determine for the first time since 1978 how far the government can go to police what's on television.

For the record, here's what started the ruckus: Cher said critics had been predicting for 40 years that she was on her way out, adding, "So f--- 'em." At the Golden Globes, Bono called his award "really, really f------ brilliant!"

Not...