College of Communication Professor T. Barton Carter, a communication law and FCC expert, says Fox Television Stations will likely eventually win its case concerning expletives for which the FCC was issuing fines, despite the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling upholding the FCC’s “fleeting expletive” rule.

“This decision prolongs the long battle over broadcast indecency. As a result of this decision, the case now goes back to the circuit court for a decision on the constitutionality of the policy. Although the lower court did not previously decide this issue, it did discuss it. That discussion indicated a reasonable likelihood that one or more of Fox’s constitutional arguments will succeed.”

Contact T. Barton Carter, 617-353-3482, comlaw@bu.edu