One First Amendment
[Commentary] The Constitution generally prohibits the government from suppressing words and images unless they are obscene. But the Supreme Court upheld a narrow exception to this free speech tenet in 1978, letting the Federal Communications Commission ban “indecent but not obscene” material from radio and television because it said broadcast media were pervasive and accessible to children.
In FCC v. Fox Television Stations, which the court heard on Jan 10, the Justices should overturn the 1978 ruling and apply the same First Amendment principles to all media. If the court refuses to go that far, it should at least uphold the decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that the FCC’s indecency policy is “unconstitutional because it is impermissibly vague” and must be revised to give reliable notice about what can be broadcast.
Justice Antonin Scalia said that “the government is entitled to insist upon a certain modicum of decency.” But the revolution in communications has wiped out the basis for any special indecency restrictions by the FCC. The court should end the anomalous treatment of radio and television. If it does not overturn the 1978 decision, it must require the FCC to rewrite the vague and subjective restrictions that chill protected speech.
One First Amendment