Sound Fine? "Indecency" Penalty Could Hit Half-Million

In a bipartisan vote of 391-22, Congress passed legislation that would increase the maximum fine for "indecency" on broadcast stations by a staggering 1,800 percent or more.

The heaviest possible fine would jump from $27,500 to $500,000 for license holders. Individual performers also face the prospect of a half-million dollar fine, but the increase in their penalty would be even higher, from the current $11,000.

"Today we're saying, 'enough is enough,''' Rep. Joseph Pitts, a Pennsylvania Republican, told colleagues during the House debate.

Advocates for the broadcast and cable industries have been pleading for self-regulation rather than tougher government oversight. But similar legislation, pending in the Senate, would go even further. It would not only impose the $500,000 maximum fines, but would order the FCC to hold up major regulations on media ownership regulations adopted last year.

Under federal rules, broadcasters may not use material that's deemed pruriently sexual or scatological between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when children are most likely to be watching.

The texts of House Resolution 3717 and Senate Bill 2056 are available at: http://thomas.loc.gov