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indecency

Privacy cases slated for U.S. Supreme Court's new term

When police in the District of Columbia decided to use an automobile GPS bug to surreptitiously track the movements of Antoine Jones, a suspected cocaine dealer, they set in motion a legal challenge that will end before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The court's fall term, which begins today, includes a review of Jones' attempt to overturn his conviction. His attorneys argue that such precise turn-by-turn tracking requires a search warrant signed by a judge--a step that D.C. police chose not to take.

It's one of a handful of technology cases that, in addition to a high-profile … Read more

Supreme Court may reconsider radio, TV indecency rules

In 1978, when the U.S. Supreme Court gravely concluded that indecent radio and TV broadcasts were "uniquely pervasive" and "uniquely accessible to children," that was probably true.

Then again, that was before cable television, DirecTV, and satellite radio, and certainly long before the Internet finally became mainstream in the late 1990s. It was also long before TV ratings for broadcast programs--and decades before the kind of parental control technology found in the V-chip became implanted in all televisions and digital converter boxes sold in the United States.

Today the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case … Read more

Court: FCC 'indecency' rule doesn't make tech sense

news analysis Call it the revenge of George Carlin.

The legendary Grammy-winning comedian, who died in 2008, was slapped down by the Federal Communications Commission in the 1970s for his "Seven Dirty Words" monologue. The U.S. Supreme Court gravely concluded that the 12-minute monologue was illegal to broadcast.

But a funny thing happened on the way to 2010. The Internet grew even faster than the federal deficit, wireless devices sprouted like Obama stickers on Priuses, and American consumers were forced to pay for V-chips in their televisions, regardless of whether they wanted any.

Which is why a … Read more

Experiment 2: Photo editing

Don't click on that Photoshop icon quite yet; we're talking about a different type of photo editing. The kind where you selectively edit down a bunch of photos to the few (in this case one) you like. In the second of our experiments and exercises, we ask you to bring your thought processes into the light. In the comments, post links to any set of five related photos--different shots of the same scene--then tell us which one you think is the best, and more importantly, why you think so. Then, look at other people's sets and see … Read more

Court for man who exposed himself to Comcast

This is a public-service announcement: please be very careful what you do when the cable guy comes around.

I make this announcement because I have just learned from the redoubtable Livingston Daily (the Livingston in Michigan, not the Scottish one, where Susan Boyle had her singing lessons) that a man is to stand trial for revealing a little too much of himself to Comcast.

No, not in a social-networking sense, though I know that Comcast is extremely active in this area.

Instead, Chris Philip Trikes, 45, of Howell, Mich., allegedly exposed his central nether regions to a Comcast chappy who … Read more

Politicos propose 'family-friendly' cable mandate

Just last week, a federal appeals court called into question an earlier finding that pop icons Cher and Nicole Ritchie broke indecency rules by uttering the "F-Word" and "S-Word" on broadcast TV awards shows a few years ago. On Thursday, politicians on Capitol Hill responded: with a proposal for new regulations aimed at promoting a more "family-friendly" selection of cable and satellite TV content.

With enthusiastic endorsements from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin and parent advocacy groups, Reps. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) on Thursday staged a press conference to unveil … Read more