New Indecency Legislation Expected

WASHINGTON — Even staunch supporters admit they face major 1st Amendment issues with new indecency legislation being bantered around Washington this week, but with several new initiatives announced during Thursday’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Internet pornography, it’s clear that indecency laws are heading for a change.

“Whatever we reach by consensus is going to happen now,” Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, said at the hearing. “[But] whatever we mandate is going to go to court.”

The biggest pressure from lawmakers at the hearing has so far fallen on the TV industry, which is why Stevens invited TV industry executives to the hearing in the hopes of hashing out a voluntary self-policing plan that would avoid the need for further legislation.

So far, four content regulation bills remain stalled in his committee, including one that would increase penalties for indecency from $32,500 to $500,000, capping the maximum charged at a whopping $3 million a day. Another proposed bill, S. 616, targets video distributors, giving the Federal Communications Commission 60 days to figure out if children are protected by current distribution technology on a case by case — company by company — basis.

If after 60 days the distributors are found at fault, the bill would allow the FCC to further penalize an infringing company.

The only bill to spur active involvement from broadcasters so far is S. 946, which would require a major increase in the amount of “kid friendly” programming currently available. EchoStar, for example, which owns the Dish Network satellite system, announced during Thursday's hearing a new “DishFamily” network, which would offer 32 “family programming” channels.

Representatives at Ad Council also made it known during the hearing that the Council would create public service announcements to educate consumers on content blocking technology, including PSA’s on the infamous V-chip. Furthermore, broadcasters plan to display a TV program’s content rating during every commercial break, rather than merely during the opening of the show as is done now.

“Every parent in America has the total power to control all the television that is dispatched to their homes,” said former movie lobby chief Jack Valenti, who helped organize the Ad Council initiative.

Valenti, a strong proponent of self-policing in the industry, warned legislators that indecency laws were a dangerous water to tread.

“Don't torment and torture the 1st Amendment,” he said.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Texas Resumes AV Lawsuit Against Aylo Following SCOTUS Decision

A district court judge in Texas has unfrozen the state’s $1.6 million lawsuit against Aylo for allegedly failing to comply with age verification requirements, Bloomberg Law is reporting.

JuicyAds Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Fraudulent Domain

JuicyAds has won its World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) case against a website using a similar domain to impersonate the company's site and defraud customers.

Anissa Kate, Jordan Starr Top AEBN for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top-selling stars for the second quarter of 2025, with Anissa Kate landing atop the leaderboard for straight theaters and Jordan Starr heading up the gay rankings.

AEBN Reveals Eva Maxim as Top Trans Star for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the second quarter of 2025, with Eva Maxim landing atop the leaderboard.

France Reinstates Age Verification Rule for EU Sites

France’s highest court, the Council of State, on Tuesday reinstated age verification rules for EU-based sites under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law, ruling in favor of the French government and against Hammy Media.

Whisper Fans Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

Whisper Fans has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Utherverse Launches 'Red Light Center' Virtual World

Virtual reality and metaverse technology company Utherverse has launched its new virtual world, RedLightCenter.io.

European Commission Approves AV Guidelines, Unveils Prototype App

The European Commission on Monday released its final, approved guidelines for protecting minors online under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and made public a “white label” age verification app intended to help sites and platforms comply with age verification rules under the DSA.

Show More