Last but not least: Now it has completely cursed out
The U.S. Supreme Court has tightened the already strict laws even further: Swearing is now completely banned on U.S. television. According to U.S. media reports, following this court ruling, broadcasters will face penalties for every single swear word used in live broadcasts.
The US Supreme Court has made the strict laws even stricter: swearing is no longer allowed on US television. According to US media reports, this court ruling means that in future every single swear word in live broadcasts will be punishable by the broadcasters. If even one inappropriate word slips out of a guest's mouth during a broadcast, the respective broadcaster must expect a fine from the FCC in future.
The stricter laws were originally initiated by a case in 2002. Back then, the singer Cher had spontaneously cursed during the broadcast of an awards ceremony. Verbal missteps by Paris Hilton and Bono Vox were also discussed in this context. In the end, the US broadcaster Fox filed a lawsuit against the FCC guidelines, which had been tightened under the Bush administration. Together with ABC, NBC and CBS, Fox argued in court that the regulations were unclear and undermined the right to freedom of expression.
Now four out of five Supreme Court judges have ruled that the new guidelines are neither "arbitrary nor capricious". For broadcasters, this means that in future their guests will have to be made very aware of how they should express themselves on television. A guest like Sacha Baron Cohen alias Ali G or Borat will probably be muzzled in future. The broadcasters will also have to think about how to mask the spontaneous outbursts of rage from sportspeople.
The stricter laws were originally initiated by a case in 2002. Back then, the singer Cher had spontaneously cursed during the broadcast of an awards ceremony. Verbal missteps by Paris Hilton and Bono Vox were also discussed in this context. In the end, the US broadcaster Fox filed a lawsuit against the FCC guidelines, which had been tightened under the Bush administration. Together with ABC, NBC and CBS, Fox argued in court that the regulations were unclear and undermined the right to freedom of expression.
Now four out of five Supreme Court judges have ruled that the new guidelines are neither "arbitrary nor capricious". For broadcasters, this means that in future their guests will have to be made very aware of how they should express themselves on television. A guest like Sacha Baron Cohen alias Ali G or Borat will probably be muzzled in future. The broadcasters will also have to think about how to mask the spontaneous outbursts of rage from sportspeople.
