Senator greases slope with KY
: Sen. Ted Stevens wants to control speech on cable, too.
The Alaska Republican told reporters at the National Association of Broadcasters’ annual state leadership convention that the regulations should also apply to premium services such as HBO.
“The problem is most viewers don’t differentiate between over-the-air and cable,” he said. “Cable is a greater violator in the indecency arena.”
Stevens brushed aside constitutional questions about whether the government has the right to regulate indecent speech on pay TV services.
March 02, 2005
Sen. Stevens: Pay TV should comply with indecency regs
By Brooks Boliek
WASHINGTON — Sen. Ted Stevens, the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, told broadcasters Tuesday that pay TV services should have to comply with the same indecency regulations as over-the-air TV stations.
The Alaska Republican told reporters at the National Association of Broadcasters’ annual state leadership convention that the regulations should also apply to premium services such as HBO.
“The problem is most viewers don’t differentiate between over-the-air and cable,” he said. “Cable is a greater violator in the indecency arena.”
Stevens brushed aside constitutional questions about whether the government has the right to regulate indecent speech on pay TV services.
“I think that’s wrong,” he said. “I think we have the same power to deal with cable as over the air, because of the combination of the two.”
Forget about putting the 10 Commandments in stone in government buildings. Can we just etch the First Amendment over the doors there? Dangerous, this guy.
