FCC's Copps sees lower indecency fines for some

FCC'S COPPS SEES LOWER INDECENCY FINES FOR SOME
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Kenneth Li]
The Federal Communications Commission is unlikely to charge the maximum fine on smaller broadcast stations that violate federal decency standards, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said on Tuesday. Last year, Congress raised the maximum fine to $325,000 per violation for each broadcast license, following complaints that the penalties were too small to have any effect on media companies that charge millions of dollars in advertising for 30-second advertising spots. But CBS Corp. Chief Executive Leslie Moonves told attendees of a conference sponsored by Common Sense Media and the Aspen Institute that he believed the fines would chill freedom of speech. "I think the increasing of fines is unfair," Moonves said. "People are more afraid of what they put on air." Moonves said the network, which drew more than 90 million viewers for Sunday's Super Bowl XLI, had turned away millions of dollars of on-air advertisements they deemed unfit for broadcast.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=televisionNews&storyID=2007-02-06T215411Z_01_N06256199_RTRIDST_0_TELEVISION-FCC-CBS-DC.XML

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