Sailing Toward Safe Harbor Hours: The Constitutionality of Regulating Television Violence

Abstract

Because of the recent focus on television violence, it is more a question of 'when,' rather than 'if,' Congress will take action on this issue. 'Safe harbor' regulation, or restricting violent programming to certain hours of the day, is one form of regulation that is recurrently suggested as a means for dealing with the potential ills created by television violence. The possibility of such regulation implicates numerous constitutional issues. This Article addresses whether 'safe harbor' regulation of television violence is feasible without violating the First Amendment and other provisions of the Constitution.

Keywords: Constitution, Constitutional Law, FCC, Federal Communications Commission, First Amendment, Pacifica, Safe Harbor, Television, TV, Violence