2nd Circuit to Decide if Fox Is F***** in FCC Indecency Case

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The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will hear arguments on Jan. 13 regarding whether the FCC's "fleeting indecency" rule violates freedom of speech under the First Amendment.

The case, Fox v. FCC (Case No. 06--1760) concerns Cher dropping the "f-bomb" during the 2002 Billboard Music Awards telecast and Nicole Richie using both the "f-word" and the "s-word" during the 2003 broadcast of the Billboard Music Awards. Both programs aired on Fox.

The Second Circuit previously ruled that the FCC had not articulated a "reasoned basis" for an indecency policy that imposes liability for a single fleeting expletive. The Supreme Court overruled the appellate court, finding that the regulatory agency offered a reasoned basis for the change in its indecency enforcement policy, but remanded the case to the Second Circuit to address whether the new policy runs afoul of the 1st Amendment.

Fox executives are probably wondering to themselves: "Why do we keep telecasting the @#*#@!!! Billboard Music Awards?"