US TV
America's Federal Communications Commission has fined over one hundred CBS affiliates a total of $3.6m for a scene in an episode of Without A Trace.
111 stations were fined for airing a scene that depicted a teen sex orgy in an episode of the drama that aired on December 31, 2004. However, there was no actual nudity on screen.
"The scene... consists of a series of shots of a number of teenagers engaged in various sexual activities, including sex between couples and among members of a group," explained the regulator in a statement. "Although the scene contains no nudity, it does depict male and female teenagers in various stages of undress. The scene also includes at least three shots depicting intercourse, two between couples and one 'group sex' shot. In the culminating shot of the scene, the witness exclaims to the others in the party that the victim is a 'porn star.'"
The FCC went on to call the scene "patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium." The regulator has gained a reputation for attempting to remove what it considers to be "indecent" material from American terrestrial TV in recent years, especially after Janet Jackson's now-infamous "wardrobe malfunction" at the 2004 Super Bowl. The FCC, in another announcement today, upheld its decision to issue fines over that incident.
In its response, CBS said it plans to "pursue all remedies necessary to affirm [its] legal rights."
111 stations were fined for airing a scene that depicted a teen sex orgy in an episode of the drama that aired on December 31, 2004. However, there was no actual nudity on screen.
"The scene... consists of a series of shots of a number of teenagers engaged in various sexual activities, including sex between couples and among members of a group," explained the regulator in a statement. "Although the scene contains no nudity, it does depict male and female teenagers in various stages of undress. The scene also includes at least three shots depicting intercourse, two between couples and one 'group sex' shot. In the culminating shot of the scene, the witness exclaims to the others in the party that the victim is a 'porn star.'"
The FCC went on to call the scene "patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium." The regulator has gained a reputation for attempting to remove what it considers to be "indecent" material from American terrestrial TV in recent years, especially after Janet Jackson's now-infamous "wardrobe malfunction" at the 2004 Super Bowl. The FCC, in another announcement today, upheld its decision to issue fines over that incident.
In its response, CBS said it plans to "pursue all remedies necessary to affirm [its] legal rights."
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