More than 100,000 people have submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)—and they overwhelmingly oppose indecent programming on the public airwaves. Morality in Media (MIM) and a coalition of 75 other groups oppose a new proposal put forth by the FCC and have asked supporters to make their voices heard and demand TV decency.
The FCC proposal would allow “isolated incidences” of nudity and profanity on network television.
“Even with this outpour of public support, we are not confident that the FCC will act in the best interest of American children and families,” says MIM President Patrick A. Trueman. “At the nomination hearing for Tom Wheeler to chair the FCC, Wheeler sidestepped the question of whether he would enforce federal decency standards on TV. Wheeler needs to commit to enforcing the law before he is confirmed.”
While the FCC claims to listen to public opinion, this seems unlikely after it recently dumped more than 1 million complaints regarding indecent programming. On April 1, the FCC released a public notice stating it had reduced indecency complaints by 70 percent, which it said is “more than 1 million complaints.” That means there are more than 400,000 complaints left to review. As of now, the public does not know if their voices will be heard.
