• Variety, Wednesday, June 4, 2008 10:30 AM

Countering an Appeals court ruling, the Bush administration says the Federal Communications Commission is justified in its new policy of slapping fines on broadcasters for so-called fleeting expletives. The Supreme Court will take up the issue in late 2008 in its first broadcast indecency case in 30 years.

In March 2006, the FCC issued an order to fine broadcasters for one-time expletives uttered in live settings. The order cited Fox for profanities on two live broadcasts and ABC and CBS for a single broadcast each. An Appeals court barred the FCC from enacting the policy and at the FCC's request, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case this fall. The White House hopes to boost the FCC's position with the courts.

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