WASHINGTON, DC – Future of Music Coalition and the Center for Creative Voices in Media filed a brief at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals today, showing that the Federal Communications Commission’s new indecency policy has a chilling effect on creativity and expression and deprives the public of access to protected speech.

“Artists must be free to create and experience the creations of others,” said FMC Executive Director Ann Chaitovitz. “Creators and the public are the unfortunate victims of the Commission’s new policy, which chills creativity and limits Americans’ access to diverse sources of expression.”

Although this brief was filed in a case brought by a consortium of broadcast licensees, FMC believes that the loss of localism due to media consolidation is at least partly responsible for the increase in complaints regarding “offensive” material. National corporate owners are unable to understand, much less effectively respond to, local sensitivities.

Because of the vagueness of the FCC’s policy, creators have been forced to self-censor, which diminishes the vitality of their artistic efforts. In addition, without exposure to a wide variety of diverse content, artists lose an important source of inspiration. “The public experience of innovative art enriches American culture,” said Chaitovitz. “These works — musical, visual or otherwise — may be deemed ‘edgy’ or even controversial, but they are not indecent. If the FCC continues its arbitrary approach to regulating protected expression on the airwaves, we will all lose.”

This brief was filed on FMC’s behalf by Media Access Project, a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to promoting the public’s First Amendment right to access a diverse marketplace of ideas in the electronic mass media of today and tomorrow.