On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission denied indecency complaints in two separated orders, as investigated after receiving 36 complaints through the Parents Television Council (PTC).
The Commission concluded that, in context, none of the segments were patently offensive under contemporary standards for the broadcast medium, and thus not indecent. The Commission also found that the material was not profane, in context. [pdf]
The FCC released the two orders in their entirety, which you can find in PDF form here [21 complaints] and here [15 complaints].
Shows in question include NBC’s Friends, FOX’s The Simpsons and the WB’s Dawson’s Creek. You can check the appendices of the documents for the details in the complaints, but it seems that the use of the word “dick” to describe a person is a common thread.
Additionally, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps made a statement, which informs that he approves - and dissents - in part on the rulings. I’ve included some of the key statements below. You can read the full statement here.
We continue to hear from citizens who are concerned about sexually explicit and profane programming on the airwaves and the potentially detrimental effects of this programming on our children. As an initial matter, I would note that this Commission has a solemn obligation to respond to consumer complaints. These complaints are increasing exponentially from a few hundred only a couple of years go to over 1 million in 2004.
…snip…
Exemplary of the complaints that should not have been summarily denied is one concerning The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer, which I believe may very well violate the statutory prohibition against indecency.
1 response so far ↓
1 moparmtn // Jan 25, 2005 at 1:01 am
is the American government doing enough to Veterans….. read my story I have been abandoned by our government and denied my rights… http://www.webspawner.com/users/morparmtn/index.html