Bush raises fines on 'wardrobe malfunctions'

Thursday, June 15, 2006; Posted: 2:12 p.m. EDT (18:12 GMT)

President Bush smiles as he prepares to sign new broadcasting legislation into law in Washington.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- President Bush Thursday signed into law legislation that raises fines tenfold on radio and television broadcasters that violate U.S. decency standards by airing extensive profanity or sexual content.

The new law, which boosts fines to as much as $325,000 per violation from $32,500, could help congressional Republicans woo conservatives in a tough election year as they have faced ebbing support from key core constituencies.

The Christian Coalition had placed legislation to increase the fines as the No. 5 item on its 2006 legislative agenda. The new law also caps any continuing violations from an incident at $3 million.

The drive for the higher fines came when pop singer Justin Timberlake ripped off part of duet partner Janet Jackson's costume and briefly exposed her breast during the 2004 Super Bowl football halftime entertainment show aired on national television.

Television and radio broadcasters are barred from airing obscene material and are limited from broadcasting indecent material between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., times when children are likely to be in the audience.

Those restrictions do not apply to cable or satellite services. That prompted radio shock jock Howard Stern to move his show to satellite radio to avoid the federal regulations since his antics led to fines against stations that aired his show.

Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Vote Libertarian.

fixed

Can we fine Robertson for lying about his ability to leg-press 600lbs more than the current World Record??

I'll generate the form letter and then we can send it in to the FCC 6,000 times.

I cannot possibly comprehend how this is so high up on someone's list of priorities. What will really happen to a child that sees boobies or hears 'fuck' on tv?

Is that last pic supposed to be an interracial couple?

Am I colorblind?

I meant I didn't get the significance behind it.

Well Im glad the gov't knows exactly what I find offensive and obscene.

This is just another inch of freedom that gets taken away. Fuck the president and anyone else who thinks that fines and limiting what can and cannot be said is alright. I'm sick of people saying that this kind of stuff is not censorship. Of course it is. It a gov't making it illegal to say certain words or talk about certain ideas. Sick.