Obscenity Part 2: The Revenge
So, upon closer inspection, there is no law against full frontal nudity on broadcast television between the hours of 10pm and 6am local time.
From the FCC (actually from the ruling I linked to in my last post, but adopted by the FCC):
According to the U.S. Supreme Court, to be obscene, material must meet a three-prong test: (1) an average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find that the material, as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest (2) the material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable law; and (3) the material, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
What is the “safe harbor”? The “safe harbor” refers to the time period between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., local time. During this time period, a station may air indecent and/or profane material. In contrast, there is no “safe harbor” for the broadcast of obscene material. Obscene material is entitled to no First Amendment protection, and may not be broadcast at any time.
So in order for something to be obscene, it must depict sexual conduct. But nudity is fine. Quick, get me a timeslot on a community access station during the safe harbor period. I'll call my show Naked Time.
From the FCC (actually from the ruling I linked to in my last post, but adopted by the FCC):
According to the U.S. Supreme Court, to be obscene, material must meet a three-prong test: (1) an average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find that the material, as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest (2) the material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable law; and (3) the material, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
What is the “safe harbor”? The “safe harbor” refers to the time period between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., local time. During this time period, a station may air indecent and/or profane material. In contrast, there is no “safe harbor” for the broadcast of obscene material. Obscene material is entitled to no First Amendment protection, and may not be broadcast at any time.
So in order for something to be obscene, it must depict sexual conduct. But nudity is fine. Quick, get me a timeslot on a community access station during the safe harbor period. I'll call my show Naked Time.