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Full-Text Articles in Communications Law
When Is Enough Too Much? The Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act Of 2005 And The Eighth Amendment’S Prohibition On Excessive Fines, Amy Sanders
Amy Kristin Sanders
The next slip of the tongue or of the blouse will hit broadcasters where it hurts: their wallet. With the recent passage of the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005 ("BDEA"), Congress raised potential fines ten-fold in an attempt to clean up the airwaves and prevent the televised snafus that have occurred with increasing frequency during the past five years. From the broadcast of a barely covered breast during the 2004 Super Bowl to the on-air announcement of a four-letter expletive on a prime-time awards show, indecent expression has attracted the attention of the general public, advocacy groups, the Federal …