Silencing Fox: The Chilling Effect of the FCC’s Indecent Speech Policy

On July 13, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Fox Television Stations, Inc. v. FCC struck down the FCC’s indecent speech policy, reasoning that the policy was unconstitutionally vague. The Second Circuit’s decision has been viewed as a victory for broadcasters and others who thought the FCC’s indecent speech policy suppressed constitutionally protected speech. This Comment argues that the decision in Fox was correct and appropriately set the stage for the Supreme Court to overturn a seemingly outdated precedent set in the Court’s 1978 decision, FCC v. Pacifica Foundation.