FCC Fines 13 Fox Stations for 2003 Episode of Married by America

FCC FINES 13 FOX STATIONS FOR 2003 EPISODE OF MARRIED BY AMERICA
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Saying that its indecency standard is not vague, the Federal Communications Commission Friday issued a forfeiture order against 13 Fox stations for a 2003 airing of Married by America that showed some pixilated body parts of bachelor-party revelers. The FCC said the parties constituted sexual activities and depicted sexual organs, even if they were blurred. The commission conceded that pixilation did make the scenes less graphic, just not sufficiently less to keep them from being patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards. The FCC is fining them $7,000 apiece, or a total of $91,000. The fine was initially $1.18 million against 169 stations, but the FCC wound up only fining the handful of stations where complaints had actually been filed in that market per a new policy, calling it part of its "appropriately restrained enforcement policy."