No one would say the word in court, but a four-letter obscenity muttered on US television by the likes of Cher and Bono was the focus of attention in the Supreme Court Tuesday as lawyers argued whether it was too crude for broadcast.
At specific issue was whether the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates broadcast television and radio, but not cable television, went too far when it suddenly moved in 2004 to levee fines of hundreds of thousands of dollars for any use on air of the word "fuck," as well as "shit."
Since a 1978 ruling, US law has forbidden the use of those and several other "expletives" on broadcast television especially during the 6 am to 10 pm period when children might be watching.
Still, until 2004 the FCC had mostly overlooked instances when someone blurted out an obscenity during an unscripted live broadcast. Punishment was only for repeated uses of the obscene words in a broadcast.
But when the agency seemed to ignore rock star Bono's televised "really, really fucking brilliant" exultation in accepting his 2003 Golden Globe award, it was hit by a backlash from conservatives.
Bono's expletive came after singer Cher was broadcast by Fox television using the "f-word" for her critics on another awards show, and after TV personality Nicole Richie, on a third live show shown on Fox, said "shit" in a joke about a Prada purse.
After feeling the heat from conservatives, the FCC let known that it would begin hitting violators of its policy with stiff fines, even if the uses of the banned words were "fleeting," or were not related to the respective sex or excrement meanings of the two words, as with Bono.
