Key lawmaker calls for criminalizing TV indecency
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
Someone needs to tell Sensenbrenner to just STFU.
Headline is linked.
Key lawmaker calls for criminalizing TV indecency
SAN FRANCISCO (Hollywood Reporter) - The chairman of one of the entertainment industry's most important congressional committees says he wants to take the enforcement of broadcast decency standards into the realm of criminal prosecution.
Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner III, R-Wis., told cable industry executives attending the National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. conference here on Monday that criminal prosecution would be a more efficient way to enforce the indecency regulations.
"I'd prefer using the criminal process rather than the regulatory process," Sensenbrenner told the executives.
The current system -- in which the FCC fines a licensee for violating the regulations -- casts too wide a net, he said, trapping those who are attempting to reign in smut on TV and those who are not.
"People who are in flagrant disregard should face a criminal process rather than a regulator process," Sensenbrenner said. "That is the way to go. Aim the cannon specifically at the people committing the offenses, rather than the blunderbuss approach that gets the good actors.
"The people who are trying to do the right thing end up being penalized the same way as the people who are doing the wrong thing."
It was unclear exactly how he would go about criminalizing violations of the indecency statutes. Typically, the Federal Communications Commission notifies the alleged offender and, if no settlement is reached, issues a fine.
When asked how he intended to criminalize the violations, Sensenbrenner repeated his assertion that it was the best way to penalize people who violate the statute but avoid "penalizing people who are not violating the law."
While he expressed a wish to criminalize the indecency violations, he also applauded the cable industry for its actions. Cable companies allow customers to block channels they find offensive but still require the customers to pay for it.
... more at linked article
Maybe what Sensenbrenner is saying isn't that bad, but personally I don't want Congress or the Government interfering in what is shown on my TV. I know how to work the channel changer. I know how to work the V-chip. I know how to manage my children and make sure they aren't watching trash (though admittedly, in cases like Janet at the Superbowl, some trash may slip in under my noses in places where it wasn't expected).
I don't need Congress to legislate away shows like Desperate Housewives, or NYPD Blue, or The Shield or whatever. Let me determine for myself what I want to see, and let the market determine whether the crap that Hollywood is packaging and selling is actually worthy of keeping around."
Headline is linked.
Key lawmaker calls for criminalizing TV indecency
SAN FRANCISCO (Hollywood Reporter) - The chairman of one of the entertainment industry's most important congressional committees says he wants to take the enforcement of broadcast decency standards into the realm of criminal prosecution.
Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner III, R-Wis., told cable industry executives attending the National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. conference here on Monday that criminal prosecution would be a more efficient way to enforce the indecency regulations.
"I'd prefer using the criminal process rather than the regulatory process," Sensenbrenner told the executives.
The current system -- in which the FCC fines a licensee for violating the regulations -- casts too wide a net, he said, trapping those who are attempting to reign in smut on TV and those who are not.
"People who are in flagrant disregard should face a criminal process rather than a regulator process," Sensenbrenner said. "That is the way to go. Aim the cannon specifically at the people committing the offenses, rather than the blunderbuss approach that gets the good actors.
"The people who are trying to do the right thing end up being penalized the same way as the people who are doing the wrong thing."
It was unclear exactly how he would go about criminalizing violations of the indecency statutes. Typically, the Federal Communications Commission notifies the alleged offender and, if no settlement is reached, issues a fine.
When asked how he intended to criminalize the violations, Sensenbrenner repeated his assertion that it was the best way to penalize people who violate the statute but avoid "penalizing people who are not violating the law."
While he expressed a wish to criminalize the indecency violations, he also applauded the cable industry for its actions. Cable companies allow customers to block channels they find offensive but still require the customers to pay for it.
... more at linked article
Maybe what Sensenbrenner is saying isn't that bad, but personally I don't want Congress or the Government interfering in what is shown on my TV. I know how to work the channel changer. I know how to work the V-chip. I know how to manage my children and make sure they aren't watching trash (though admittedly, in cases like Janet at the Superbowl, some trash may slip in under my noses in places where it wasn't expected).
I don't need Congress to legislate away shows like Desperate Housewives, or NYPD Blue, or The Shield or whatever. Let me determine for myself what I want to see, and let the market determine whether the crap that Hollywood is packaging and selling is actually worthy of keeping around."