• by David Kaplan , March 2, 2005

Senator Ted Stevens' promise to hold cable programmers to indecency standards similar to those that currently govern broadcasters was immediately denounced by cable lobbyists as a potential violation of the First Amendment.

Stevens (R-Alaska), who heads the Senate Commerce Committee that oversees the communications industry, made his statement before the National Association of Broadcasters' leadership conference in Washington, D.C. yesterday. According to an NAB representative, the senator said: "Cable is a much greater violator in the indecency area, and I think we have the same power to deal with cable as over-the-air [broadcasters]."

Brian Dietz, a spokesman for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), said in response: "Cable technology already provides families [with] the tools to block unwanted channels from entering the home, and leading cable companies will provide this technology at no additional charge to customers who don't have the means to block unwanted programming. Moreover, we believe any regulation of cable content raises serious First Amendment objections, and will oppose efforts to impose regulation on cable programming."

Dietz cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that indicated that the subscription nature of cable service, among other things, strongly differentiates cable from broadcasting, which is distributed free and unfiltered over the air.

Stevens is scheduled to appear before an NCTA conference next month.