Lawmakers have reintroduced two bills to raise fines for broadcast indecency violations. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the Telecom Subcommittee, would raise the amount to $500,000 for each instance.
In the Senate, Sam Brownback, R-Kan. and Joe Lieberman, D- Conn., favor a fine of $325,000 for each violation and a $3 million cap for any single act.
The current maximum is $32,500 per offense, to which the FCC had raised the limit last year. Several bills were introduced in the last Congress to raise indecency penalties, but none passed, as the economy, the war in Iraq and the elections occupied lawmakers’ attention.
Bills to Raise Indecency Fines Introduced
Bills to Raise Indecency Fines Introduced