Supreme Court weighs technology, culture in FCC power to monitor airwaves
Advancing technology, the coarsening culture and even the bare classical figures that adorn the Supreme Court’s ornate courtroom came into play Tuesday as the justices debated whether the government should retain the power to monitor the public airwaves for profanity and nudity.
The justices seemed reluctant to find that any government control over broadcast indecency was forbidden by the First Amendment.
But they also said they understood that the broadcast networks, which are subject to regulation and fines from the Federal Communications Commission, reside for most Americans one remote-control button away from cable channels that are free to show whatever they want.
“You — what do you call it, you surf? — you go through all the channels,” Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said. “And it’s not apparent to many people which are broadcast and which are not.”
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