FCC to Require Broadcasters to Keep Tapes of Shows

The Importance of writes "Under current FCC rules, in order to make an indecency complaint about a broadcast you have to provide "a significant excerpt from the program or a full or partial tape or transcript of the program." However, broadcasters aren't required to keep a tape of their broadcasts so, rarely, an indecency complaint gets dismissed for lack of evidence. But that is going to change. The FCC has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [PDF] [TXT] that will require broadcasters to maintain recordings of their broadcasts for 60-90 days. The FCC is also considering reducing what you must claim in order to enter a complaint, thus opening the floodgates for indecency complaints by groups like the Parents Television Council, which is already keeping the FCC censors busy. Doesn't the government have better things to do?"

Comments

Re:Parents should be parents

[ljavelin]

One of the problems with family values is that it's hard to make laws that force family values upon America. But laws can still help!

So what can America do?

- we can pass laws to encourage lower-cost health care - by prohibiting people from suing doctors for mis-diagnosis and surgical errors.

- we can pass laws to give tax incentives to corporations that want to provide alternative television programming to kids in the classroom. Lower taxes, pro-family, and lower teaching costs!

- we can pass laws to fund religious groups, so that they can market their values-based programs to Americans. They can market values better than government agencies (due to consitutional restrictions on what government can directly do)

- we can assist families by helping them with better jobs. By minimizing the tax and labor burdens put on corporations, corporations will hire more people. By eliminating the minimum wage, more corporations will be able to hire more people - helping the American family.

Why is government not the solution here?

[gryf]

Most shows keep a record of their broadcasts anyway. That's how we have records of, say, the moon landing. This isn't a big onus, it just keeps the studios honest. If you oppose this because it's government getting involved where it doesn't belong, where do you stand on say, inheritance tax or laws illegalizing throwing aluminum cans into your garbage?