II 

Calendar No. 471 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2056 

[Report No. 108–253] 

To increase the penalties for violations by television and radio broadcasters 

of the prohibitions against transmission of obscene, indecent, and profane 

language. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 9, 2004 

Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mr. GRAHAM of South Carolina, Mr. ALLEN, 

Mr. SANTORUM, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. LOTT, Mr. FITZGERALD, Mr. 

INHOFE, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. KYL, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. 

HAGEL, Mr. MILLER, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mrs. DOLE, Mr. ENZI, Mr. 

CHAMBLISS, Mr. CARPER, and Mr. GRASSLEY) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

APRIL 5, 2004 

Reported by Mr. MCCAIN with amendments and an amendment to the title 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To increase the penalties for violations by television and 

radio broadcasters of the prohibitions against transmission of obscene, indecent, and profane language. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

TITLE I—BROADCAST DECENCY

Sec. 101. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 102. Increase in penalties for obscene, indecent, and profane broadcasts. 

Sec. 103. Additional factors in indecency penalties; exception. 

Sec. 104. Indecency penalties for non-licensees. 

Sec. 105. Voluntary industry code of conduct governing family television viewing. 

Sec. 106. Deadlines for action on complaints. 

Sec. 107. Required contents of annual reports of the Commission. 

Sec. 108. Media ownership and indecent broadcast.

Sec. 109. Implementation. 

TITLE II—CHILDREN’S PROTECTION FROM VIOLENT PROGRAMMING

Sec. 201. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 202. Findings. 

Sec. 203. Assessment of effectiveness of current rating system for violence and effectiveness of v-chip in blocking violent programming. 

Sec. 204. Unlawful distribution of violent video programming that is not specifically rated for violence and therefore is not blockable. 

Sec. 205. FTC study of marketing strategy improvements. 

Sec. 206. Separability. 

Sec. 207. Effective date. 

3 TITLE I—BROADCAST DECENCY 

4 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

5 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This Act title may be cited as the ‘‘Broadcast De7 cency Enforcement Act of 2004’’. 

8 SEC. 2. INCREASE IN PENALTIES FOR OBSCENE, INDECENT, 

9 AND PROFANE BROADCASTS. 

10 SEC. 102. INCREASE IN PENALTIES FOR OBSCENE, INDE11 CENT, AND PROFANE BROADCASTS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 503(b)(2) of the Commu13 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)(2)) is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and 

15 (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively; 
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1 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol2 lowing new subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(C) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), if the viola4 tor is— 

5 ‘‘(i)(I) a broadcast station licensee or permittee; 

6 or 

7 ‘‘(II) an applicant for any broadcast license, 

8 permit, certificate, or other instrument or authoriza9 tion issued by the Commission; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) determined by the Commission under 

11 paragraph (1) to have broadcast obscene, indecent, 

12 or profane language, 

13 the amount of any forfeiture penalty determined under 

14 this subsection shall not exceed $275,000 for each viola15 tion or each day of a continuing violation, except that the 

16 amount assessed for any continuing violation shall not ex17 ceed a total of $3,000,000 for any single act or failure 

18 to act.’’; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) determined by the Commission under 

20 paragraph (1) to have broadcast obscene, inde21 cent, or profane language or images, 

22 the amount of any forfeiture penalty determined under this 

23 subsection shall not exceed $275,000 for the first violation, 

24 $375,000 for the second violation, and $500,000 for the 

25 third and any subsequent violations, with each utterance 
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1 constituting a separate violation, except that the amount 

2 assessed a licensee or permitee for any number of violations 

3 in a given 24-hour time period shall not exceed a total of 

4 $3,000,000. In determining the amount of any forfeiture 

5 penalty under this subparagraph, the Commission, in addi6 tion to the elements identified in subparagraph (E), shall 

7 take into account the violator’s ability to pay, including 

8 such factors as the revenue and profits of the broadcast sta9 tions that aired the obscene, indecent, or profane language 

10 and the size of the markets in which these stations are lo11 cated.’’; and 

12 (3) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated by 

13 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A) or 

14 (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A), (B), or (C)’’. 

15 (b) REVOCATION PROCEEDINGS FOR MULTIPLE VIOLA16 TIONS OF INDECENCY PROHIBITIONS.—Section 312 of the 

17 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 503) is amended 

18 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

19 ‘‘(h) LICENCE REVOCATION FOR MULTIPLE VIOLA20 TIONS OF INDECENCY PROHIBITIONS.—If, in each of 3 or 

21 more proceedings during the term of a broadcast license for 

22 a broadcast station, a licensee is ordered to pay forfeitures 

23 for the broadcast of obscene, indecent, or profane material 

24 by either— 
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1 ‘‘(1) the Commission and such forfeitures have 

2 been paid, or 

3 ‘‘(2) a court of competent jurisdiction and such 

4 orders have become final, 

5 then the Commission shall commence a proceeding under 

6 subsection (a) with respect to that broadcast station to re7 voke the station license or construction permit of that li8 censee or permittee.’’. 

9 SEC. 103. ADDITIONAL FACTORS IN INDECENCY PENALTIES; 

10 EXCEPTION. 

11 Section 503(b)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934 

12 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)(2)), as amended by section 102 of this 

13 Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(F) In the case of a violation in which the violator 

15 is determined by the Commission under paragraph (1) to 

16 have uttered obscene, indecent, or profane material, the 

17 Commission shall take into account, in addition to the mat18 ters described in subparagraph (E), the following factors 

19 with respect to the degree of culpability of the violator: 

20 ‘‘(i) Whether the material uttered by the violator 

21 was live or recorded, scripted or unscripted. 

22 ‘‘(ii) Whether the violator had a reasonable op23 portunity to review recorded or scripted programming 

24 or had a reasonable basis to believe live or unscripted 
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1 programming would contain obscene, indecent, or 

2 profane material. 

3 ‘‘(iii) If the violator originated live or unscripted 

4 programming, whether a time delay blocking mecha5 nism was implemented for the programming. 

6 ‘‘(iv) The size of the viewing or listening audi7 ence of the programming. 

8 ‘‘(v) The size of the market. 

9 ‘‘(vi) Whether the violation occurred during a 

10 children’s television program (as such term is used in 

11 the Children’s Television Programming Policy ref12 erenced in section 73.4050(c) of the Commission’s reg13 ulations (47 C.F.R. 73.4050(c)) or during a television 

14 program rated TVY, TVY7, TVY7FV, or TVG under 

15 the TV Parental Guidelines as such ratings were ap16 proved by the Commission in implementation of sec17 tion 551 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, 

18 Video Programming Ratings, Report and Order, CS 

19 Docket No. 97–55, 13 F.C.C. Rcd. 8232 (1998)), and, 

20 with respect to a radio broadcast station licensee, per21 mittee, or applicant, whether the target audience was 

22 primarily comprised of, or should reasonably have 

23 been expected to be primarily comprised of, children. 

24 ‘‘(G) The Commission may double the amount of any 

25 forfeiture penalty (not to exceed $550,000 for the first viola-
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1 tion, $750,000 for the second violation, and $1,000,000 for 

2 the third or any subsequent violation not to exceed up to 

3 $3,000,000 for all violations in a 24-hour time period not4 withstanding section 503(b)(2)(C)) if the Commission deter5 mines additional factors are present which are aggravating 

6 in nature, including— 

7 ‘‘(i) whether the material uttered by the violator 

8 was recorded or scripted; 

9 ‘‘(ii) whether the violator had a reasonable op10 portunity to review recorded or scripted programming 

11 or had a reasonable basis to believe live or unscripted 

12 programming would contain obscene, indecent, or 

13 profane material; 

14 ‘‘(iii) whether the violator failed to block live or 

15 unscripted programming; 

16 ‘‘(iv) whether the size of the viewing or listening 

17 audience of the programming was substantially larger 

18 than usual, such as a national or international cham19 pionship sporting event or awards program; and 

20 ‘‘(v) whether the violation occurred during a 

21 children’s television program (as defined in subpara22 graph (F)(vi)).’’. 

23 SEC. 104. INDECENCY PENALTIES FOR NON-LICENSEES. 

24 Section 503(b)(5) of the Communications Act of 1934 

25 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)(5) is amended— 
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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(5)’’. 

2 (2) by striking ‘‘person’’ the fourth place it ap3 pears in the first sentence and inserting ‘‘person—’’; 

4 (3) by resetting the matter in the first sentence 

5 beginning with ‘‘(A)’’, ‘‘(B)’’, and ‘‘(C)’’ as separate 

6 paragraphs indented 2 ems from the left margin and 

7 redesignating them as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), re8 spectively; 

9 (4) by resetting the third sentence as an indented 

10 paragraph flush with the left margin and inserting 

11 ‘‘(C)’’ before ‘‘Whenever’’; and 

12 (5) by amending the second sentence to read as 

13 follows: 

14 ‘‘(B) The provisions of subparagraph (A) shall not 

15 apply— 

16 ‘‘(i) if the person involved is engaging in activi17 ties for which a license, permit, certificate, or other 

18 authorization is required or is a cable television sys19 tem operator; 

20 ‘‘(ii) if the person involved is transmitting on 

21 frequencies assigned for use in a service in which in22 dividual station operation is authorized by rule pur23 suant to section 307(e); 

24 ‘‘(iii) in the case of violations of section 303(q), 

25 if the person involved is a nonlicensee tower owner 
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1 who has previously received notice of the obligations 

2 imposed by section 303(q) from the Commission or 

3 the permittee or licensee who uses that tower; or 

4 ‘‘(iv) in the case of a determination that a per5 son uttered obscene, indecent, or profane material that 

6 was broadcast by a broadcast station licensee or per7 mittee, if the person is determined to have willfully 

8 or intentionally made the utterance and knew or 

9 should have known that the material would be broad10 cast, but, notwithstanding any other provision of this 

11 section, any person determined by the Commission to 

12 have engaged in such activity shall be subject to a for13 feiture penalty not to exceed $500,000 for each viola14 tion.’’. 

15 SEC. 105. VOLUNTARY INDUSTRY CODE OF CONDUCT GOV16 ERNING FAMILY TELEVISION VIEWING. 

17 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 

18 State, regional, or national association of broadcasters or 

19 networks (including the National Association of Broad20 casters), or any group of network affiliates may enter into 

21 a voluntary code of conduct providing a family viewing pol22 icy. The policy may include a requirement that entertain23 ment programming inappropriate for viewing by a general 

24 family audience (including violent, indecent, or sexually ex25 plicit content) should not be broadcast during the first hour 
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1 of network entertainment programming in prime time and 

2 in the immediately preceding hour. 

3 SEC. 106. DEADLINES FOR ACTION ON COMPLAINTS. 

4 Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

5 U.S.C. 503(b)) is further amended by adding at the end 

6 thereof the following new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(7) In the case of an allegation concerning the utter8 ance of obscene, indecent, or profane material that is broad9 cast by a station licensee or permittee— 

10 ‘‘(A) within 270 days after the date of the receipt 

11 of such allegation, the Commission shall— 

12 ‘‘(i) issue the required notice under para13 graph (3) to such licensee or permittee or the 

14 person making such utterance; 

15 ‘‘(ii) issue a notice of apparent liability to 

16 such licensee or permittee or person in accord17 ance with paragraph (4); or 

18 ‘‘(iii) notify such licensee, permittee, or per19 son in writing, and any person submitting such 

20 allegation in writing or by general publication, 

21 that the Commission has determined not to issue 

22 either such notice; and 

23 ‘‘(B) if the Commission issues such notice and 

24 such licensee, permittee, or person has not paid a 

25 penalty or entered into a settlement with the Commis-
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1 sion, within 270 days after the date on which the no2 tice was issued, the Commission shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) issue an order imposing a forfeiture 

4 penalty; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) notify such licensee, permittee, or per6 son in writing, and any person submitting such 

7 allegation in writing or by general publication, 

8 that the Commission has determined not to issue 

9 either such order.’’. 

10 SEC. 107. REQUIRED CONTENTS OF ANNUAL REPORTS OF 

11 THE COMMISSION. 

12 The Federal Communications Commission shall sub13 mit a report each year to the Senate Committee on Com14 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep15 resentatives Committee on Energy and Commerce that in16 cludes the following information: 

17 (1) The number of complaints received by the 

18 Commission during the year covered by the report al19 leging that a broadcast contained obscene, indecent, or 

20 profane material, and the number of programs to 

21 which such complaints relate. 

22 (2) The number of complaints alleging that a 

23 broadcast contained obscene, indecent, or profane ma24 terial that have been dismissed or denied by the Com-
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1 mission during the year to which the report relates, 

2 regardless of when the complaints were received. 

3 (3) The number of complaints on which action 

4 was pending at the end of the period covered by the 

5 annual report. 

6 (4) The number of notices issued by the Commis7 sion under paragraph (3) or (4) of section 503(b) of 

8 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)) 

9 during the year covered by the report to enforce the 

10 statutes, rules, and policies prohibiting the broad11 casting of obscene, indecent, or profane material. 

12 (5) For each such notice, a statement of— 

13 (A) the amount of the proposed forfeiture; 

14 (B) the program, station, and corporate 

15 parent to which the notice was issued; 

16 (C) the length of time between the date on 

17 which the complaint was filed and the date on 

18 which the notice was issued; and 

19 (D) the status of the proceeding. 

20 (6) The number of forfeiture orders issued pursu21 ant to section 503(b) of such Act during the year cov22 ered by the report to enforce the statutes, rules, and 

23 policies prohibiting the broadcasting of obscene, inde24 cent, or profane material. 
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1 (7) For each such forfeiture order, a statement 

2 of— 

3 (A) the amount assessed by the final for4 feiture order; 

5 (B) the program, station, and corporate 

6 parent to which it was issued; 

7 (C) whether the licensee has paid the for8 feiture order; 

9 (D) the amount paid by the licensee; and 

10 (E) in instances where the licensee refused 

11 to pay, whether the Department of Justice 

12 brought an action in Federal court to collect the 

13 penalty. 

14 SEC. 108. MEDIA OWNERSHIP AND INDECENT BROADCAST. 

15 (a) INQUIRY AND REPORT REQUIRED.—The Comp16 troller General shall conduct a study examining the rela17 tionship between the horizontal and vertical consolidation 

18 of media companies and the number of complaints and vio19 lations of the indecency prohibitions contained in the stat20 utes, regulations, and policies enforced by the Federal Com21 munications Commission. The Comptroller General shall 

22 submit a report on the results of such study within 1 year 

23 after the date of enactment of this Act to the Senate Com24 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 
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1 House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Com2 merce. 

3 (b) NEW BROADCAST MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES SUS4 PENDED.— 

5 (1) SUSPENSION.—The broadcast media owner6 ship rules adopted by the Federal Communications 

7 Commission on June 2, 2003, pursuant to its pro8 ceeding on broadcast media ownership rules, Report 

9 and Order FCC–03–127, published at 68 FR 46286, 

10 August 5, 2003, shall be invalid and without legal ef11 fect until the completion and submission of the report 

12 of the inquiry required by subsection (a). 

13 (2) REINSTATEMENT OF PREVIOUS BROADCAST

14 MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES.—Until the completion 

15 and submission of the report of the inquiry required 

16 by subsection (a), the broadcast media ownership 

17 rules of the Federal Communications Commission 

18 that were in effect on June 1, 2003, are reinstated as 

19 they were in effect on June 1, 2003. Such rules shall 

20 be applied and enforced both prospectively after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act and retroactively to 

22 June 2, 2003, as if the media ownership proceeding 

23 had not occurred. 
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1 SEC. 109. IMPLEMENTATION. 

2 (a) REGULATIONS.—The Commission shall prescribe 

3 regulations to implement the amendments made by this title 

4 within 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

5 (b) PROSPECTIVE APPLICATION.—This title and the 

6 amendments made by this title shall not apply with respect 

7 to material broadcast before the date of enactment of this 

8 Act. 

9 (c) SEPARABILITY.—Section 708 of the Communica10 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 608) shall apply to this title 

11 and the amendments made by this title. 

12 TITLE II—CHILDREN’S PROTEC13 TION FROM VIOLENT PRO14 GRAMMING 

15 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

16 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Children’s Protection 

17 from Violent Programming Act’’. 

18 SEC. 202. FINDINGS. 

19 The Congress makes the following findings: 

20 (1) Television influences children’s perception of 

21 the values and behavior that are common and accept22 able in society. 

23 (2) Broadcast television, cable television, and 

24 video programming are— 

25 (A) uniquely pervasive presences in the lives 

26 of all American children; and 
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1 (B) readily accessible to all American chil2 dren. 

3 (3) Violent video programming influences chil4 dren, as does indecent programming. 

5 (4) There is empirical evidence that children ex6 posed to violent video programming at a young age 

7 have a higher tendency to engage in violent and ag8 gressive behavior later in life than those children not 

9 so exposed. 

10 (5) There is empirical evidence that children ex11 posed to violent video programming have a greater 

12 tendency to assume that acts of violence are accept13 able behavior and therefore to imitate such behavior. 

14 (6) There is empirical evidence that children ex15 posed to violent video programming have an in16 creased fear of becoming a victim of violence, result17 ing in increased self-protective behaviors and in18 creased mistrust of others. 

19 (7) There is a compelling governmental interest 

20 in limiting the negative influences of violent video 

21 programming on children. 

22 (8) There is a compelling governmental interest 

23 in channeling programming with violent content to 

24 periods of the day when children are not likely to 
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1 comprise a substantial portion of the television audi2 ence. 

3 (9) A significant amount of violent program4 ming that is readily accessible to minors remains 

5 unrated specifically for violence and therefore cannot 

6 be blocked solely on the basis of its violent content. 

7 (10) Age-based ratings that do not include con8 tent rating for violence do not allow parents to block 

9 programming based solely on violent content thereby 

10 rendering ineffective any technology-based blocking 

11 mechanism designed to limit violent video program12 ming. 

13 (11) The most recent study of the television rat14 ings system by the Kaiser Family Foundation con15 cludes that 79 percent of violent programming is not 

16 specifically rated for violence. 

17 (12) Technology-based solutions, such as the V18 chip, may be helpful in protecting some children, but 

19 cannot achieve the compelling governmental interest 

20 in protecting all children from violent programming 

21 when parents are only able to block programming 

22 that has, in fact, been rated for violence. 

23 (13) Restricting the hours when violent program24 ming can be shown protects the interests of children 

25 whose parents are unavailable, unable to supervise 
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1 their children’s viewing behavior, do not have the ben2 efit of technology-based solutions, are unable to afford 

3 the costs of technology-based solutions, or are unable 

4 to determine the content of those shows that are only 

5 subject to age-based ratings. 

6 (14) After further study, pursuant to a rule7 making, the Federal Communications Commission 

8 may conclude that content-based ratings and blocking 

9 technology do not effectively protect children from the 

10 harm of violent video programming. 

11 (15) If the Federal Communications Commission 

12 reaches the conclusion described in paragraph (14), 

13 the channeling of violent video programming will be 

14 the least restrictive means of limiting the exposure of 

15 children to the harmful influences of violent video 

16 programming. 

17 SEC. 203. ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTIVENESS OF CURRENT 

18 RATING SYSTEM FOR VIOLENCE AND EFFEC19 TIVENESS OF V-CHIP IN BLOCKING VIOLENT 

20 PROGRAMMING. 

21 (a) REPORT.—The Federal Communications Commis22 sion shall— 

23 (1) assess the effectiveness of measures to require 

24 television broadcasters and multichannel video pro25 gramming distributors (as defined in section 602(13) 
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1 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

2 522(13)) to rate and encode programming that could 

3 be blocked by parents using the V-chip undertaken 

4 under section 715 of the Communications Act of 1934 

5 (47 U.S.C. 715) and under subsections (w) and (x) of 

6 section 303 of that Act (47 U.S.C. 303(w) and (x)) 

7 in accomplishing the purposes for which they were en8 acted; and 

9 (2) report its findings to the Committee on Com10 merce, Science, and Transportation of the United 

11 States Senate and the Committee on Energy and 

12 Commerce of the United States House of Representa13 tives, within 12 months after the date of enactment of 

14 this Act and annually thereafter. 

15 (b) ACTION.—If the Commission finds at any time, as 

16 a result of its ongoing assessment under subsection (a), that 

17 the measures referred to in subsection (a)(1) are insuffi18 ciently effective, then the Commission shall complete a rule19 making within 270 days after the date on which the Com20 mission makes that finding to prohibit the distribution of 

21 violent video programming during the hours when children 

22 are reasonably likely to comprise a substantial portion of 

23 the audience. 

24 (c) DEFINITIONS.—Any term used in this section that 

25 is defined in section 715 of the Communications Act of 1934 
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1 (47 U.S.C. 715), or in regulations under that section, has 

2 the same meaning as when used in that section or in those 

3 regulations. 

4 SEC. 204. UNLAWFUL DISTRIBUTION OF VIOLENT VIDEO 

5 PROGRAMMING THAT IS NOT SPECIFICALLY 

6 RATED FOR VIOLENCE AND THEREFORE IS 

7 NOT BLOCKABLE. 

8 Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

9 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 715. UNLAWFUL DISTRIBUTION OF VIOLENT VIDEO 

12 PROGRAMMING NOT SPECIFICALLY 

13 BLOCKABLE BY ELECTRONIC MEANS. 

14 ‘‘(a) UNLAWFUL DISTRIBUTION.—It shall be unlawful 

15 for any person to distribute to the public any violent video 

16 programming not blockable by electronic means specifically 

17 on the basis of its violent content during hours when chil18 dren are reasonably likely to comprise a substantial portion 

19 of the audience. 

20 ‘‘(b) RULEMAKING PROCEEDING.—The Commission 

21 shall conduct a rulemaking proceeding to implement the 

22 provisions of this section and shall promulgate final regula23 tions pursuant to that proceeding not later than 9 months 

24 after the date of enactment of the Children’s Protection from 
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1 Violent Programming Act. As part of that proceeding, the 

2 Commission— 

3 ‘‘(1) may exempt from the prohibition under 

4 subsection (a) programming (including news pro5 grams and sporting events) whose distribution does 

6 not conflict with the objective of protecting children 

7 from the negative influences of violent video program8 ming, as that objective is reflected in the findings in 

9 section 551(a) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996; 

10 ‘‘(2) shall exempt premium and pay-per-view 

11 cable programming and premium and pay-per-view 

12 direct-to-home satellite programming; and 

13 ‘‘(3) shall define the term ‘hours when children 

14 are reasonably likely to comprise a substantial por15 tion of the audience’ and the term ‘violent video pro16 gramming’. 

17 ‘‘(c) ENFORCEMENT.— 

18 ‘‘(1) FORFEITURE PENALTY.—The forfeiture pen19 alties established by section 503(b) for violations of 

20 section 1464 of title 18, United States Code, shall 

21 apply to a violation of this section, or any regulation 

22 promulgated under it in the same manner as if a vio23 lation of this section, or such a regulation, were a vio24 lation of law subject to a forfeiture penalty under that 

25 section. 
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1 ‘‘(2) LICENSE REVOCATION.—If a person repeat2 edly violates this section or any regulation promul3 gated under this section, the Commission shall, after 

4 notice and opportunity for hearing, revoke any license 

5 issued to that person under this Act. 

6 ‘‘(3) LICENSE RENEWALS.—The Commission 

7 shall consider, among the elements in its review of an 

8 application for renewal of a license under this Act, 

9 whether the licensee has complied with this section 

10 and the regulations promulgated under this section. 

11 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

12 ‘‘(1) BLOCKABLE BY ELECTRONIC MEANS.—The 

13 term ‘blockable by electronic means’ means blockable 

14 by the feature described in section 303(x). 

15 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTE.—The term ‘distribute’ means 

16 to send, transmit, retransmit, telecast, broadcast, or 

17 cablecast, including by wire, microwave, or satellite, 

18 but it does not include the transmission, retrans19 mission, or receipt of any voice, data, graphics, or 

20 video telecommunications accessed through an inter21 active computer service as defined in section 230(f)(2) 

22 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

23 230(f)(2)), which is not originated or transmitted in 

24 the ordinary course of business by a television broad25 cast station or multichannel video programming dis-
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1 tributor as defined in section 602(13) of that Act (47 

2 U.S.C. 522(13)). 

3 ‘‘(3) VIOLENT VIDEO PROGRAMMING.—The term 

4 ‘violent video programming’ as defined by the Com5 mission may include matter that is excessive or gra6 tuitous violence within the meaning of the 1992 

7 Broadcast Standards for the Depiction of Violence in 

8 Television Programs, December 1992.’’. 

9 SEC. 205. FTC STUDY OF MARKETING STRATEGY IMPROVE10 MENTS. 

11 The Federal Trade Commission shall continue to study 

12 the marketing of violent content by the motion picture, 

13 music recording, and computer and video game industries 

14 to children, including the improvements to marketing prac15 tices developed and implemented by those industries. The 

16 Commission shall update its study and report annually, in17 cluding findings and recommendations, to the Senate Com18 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

19 House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Com20 merce. 

21 SEC. 206. SEPARABILITY. 

22 If any provision of this title, or any provision of an 

23 amendment made by this title, or the application thereof 

24 to particular persons or circumstances, is found to be un25 constitutional, the remainder of this title or that amend-
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1 ment, or the application thereof to other persons or cir2 cumstances shall not be affected. 

3 SEC. 207. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

4 The prohibition contained in section 715 of the Com5 munications Act of 1934 (as added by section 204 of this 

6 title) and the regulations promulgated thereunder shall take 

7 effect 1 year after the regulations are adopted by the Com8 mission. 

9 Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to increase the 

10 penalties for violations by television and radio broad11 casters of the prohibitions against transmission of ob12 scene, indecent, and profane material, and for other pur13 poses’’. 

Calendar No. 471 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2056 

[Report No. 108–253] 

A BILL 

To increase the penalties for violations by television 

profane language. against transmission of obscene, indecent, and and radio broadcasters of the prohibitions 

APRIL 5, 2004 

Reported with amendments and an amendment to the 

title