Professor Lisa McElroy discussed a Supreme Court ruling regarding Federal Communications Commission sanctions against broadcasters on Airtalk, a program on National Public Radio affiliate KPCC, on June 21.

The court found that the FCC had fined ABC and FOX for indecency without giving the broadcasters sufficient warning that fleeting expletives or momentary nudity on a live broadcast could trigger sanctions.

Calling the ruling “narrow,” McElroy noted that the court declined to address an underlying question about whether or not the First Amendment protects broadcasters. 

McElroy joined attorney Carter Philips, who had argued the case on behalf of ABC and FOX, and Simon Wilkie, executive director of the University of Southern California Center for Communication Law and Policy, on the program.