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- QST, February 1989, page 9 =
- No Safe Harbor for Indecency =
- Back in the July 1987 issue of QST, we reported on this page that the FCC had
- put broadcasters and amateurs on notice that 1, standards for decency in
- radio transmissions exist in both services, and 2, henceforth, the standards
- would be enforced. We presented those standards, in detail which does not
- bear repeating here, and noted that while there was a blanket prohibition on
- obscenity, indecent material broadcast during the wee hours when,
- presumably, children are asleep would not be subject to sanctions.
- It was never entirely clear whether this safe harbor for indecency applied to
- the Amateur Radio Service. Editorially, we expressed the hope that amateurs
- would choose to observe a higher standard anyway, rendering the question
- moot. Well, Congress was not thrilled with the idea of a safe harbor for
- indecent broadcasts. In Public Law 100459, signed by President Reagan on
- October 1, the FCC was given an explicit mandate to enforce the prohibitions
- against broadcast obscenity and indecency on a 24 hour per day basis. On
- December 19, the Commission acted accordingly and a couple of days later
- issued a press release announcing that the new rule would take effect 30
- days after publication in the Federal Register. +
-