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NEW YORK (AP) - A federal appeals court Monday found that a new Federal Communications Commission policy penalizing accidentally aired expletives was invalid, saying it was "arbitrary and capricious" and might not survive First Amendment scrutiny.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not, however, outlaw the policy outright. It ruled in favor of a Fox Television-led challenge to the policy and returned the case to the FCC to let the agency try to provide a "reasoned analysis" for its new approach to indecency and profanity.
The broadcasters had asked the appeals court last year to invalidate the FCC's conclusion that profanity-laced broadcasts on four different shows were indecent, even though no fines were issued.
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