House Passes Bill to Raise Fines for On-Air Indecency

The U.S. House passed a bill Wednesday to raise maximum fines tenfold against broadcasters for airing indecent material, sending the measure to President Bush to be signed into law.

The legislation would boost to $325,000 per violation the penalty that the Federal Communications Commission could levy against television and radio stations, including those owned by CBS Corp., News Corp.’s Fox and Clear Channel Communications Inc. The maximum for all violations on a single show would be $3 million.

The 379-35 House vote on the bill, which cleared the Senate last month, caps a two-year effort by advocacy groups to reduce nudity, obscenity and sexual references on the public airwaves. The penalties would not apply to subscription services such as cable or satellite television and satellite radio.

“It’s certainly possible now that local TV stations will press the networks to minimize the kind of programming that will put them in legal jeopardy,” Paul Gallant, a Stanford Washington Research Group analyst who was a senior FCC aide, said in an interview before the vote. “Higher fines also might cause radio stations to tighten limits on shock jocks.”

Bush will sign the bill, according to a statement released by the White House after the vote.

“This legislation will make television and radio more family friendly by allowing the FCC to impose stiffer fines on broadcasters who air obscene or indecent programming,” Bush said in the e-mailed statement.

The push to increase sanctions gained momentum after CBS showed singer Janet Jackson’s breast during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show.

Los Angeles-based Parents Television Council organized a campaign that led to the filing of more than half a million complaints with the FCC.