NCJ Number
102500
Date Published
1985
Length
167 pages
Annotation
Representatives of Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the American Civil Liberties Union, and concerned citizens discuss the provision of Senate Bill 1090 relating to the broadcast of obscene language.
Abstract
The bill provides penalties (fine and/or imprisonment) for the use of television, radio, or telephone in the transmission of obscene, lewd, or lascivious materials. Testimony favoring the bill highlights the deleterious psychological effects of such materials, particularly on impressionable children. Opposing testimony considers the bill in terms of its effects on first amendment guarantees. A number of limitations in the language of the bill, particularly its use of 'profane' and 'obscene' are discussed in view of prior obscenity case law and the constitutional issues involved. Possible revisions of the bill are suggested to overcome these obstacles, and alternative methods for controlling such pornographic transmissions are suggested.