In the wake of the last six weeks of debate over broadcast (in)decency, FCC chief Michael Powell is commenting on whether the FCC should have the ability to regulate cable:

While the FCC has clear authority to regulate broadcast indecency, its reach to cable is tenuous at best. And Mr. Powell said the agency needs clear authority from Congress to regulate violent content on cable.

Mr. Powell commended the commerce committee’s attempt to provide that authority in the bill. But he added, “I feel very, very strongly that the FCC on its own should not extend its authority into such new and untested areas of content without a clear supportive basis in statute.

“I think that’s necessary to provide constitutional certainty,” Mr. Powell said. He noted that amendments not directly related to increasing the FCC’s enforcement authority - such as the media-ownership rules change delay - could slow passage.

The idea that the FCC should have authority to regulate cable and satellite was first floated by Lowell “Bud” Paxon, who runs the PAX network. He told a House subcommittee a few weeks ago that he believes the FCC should get involved in regulating content on cable and satellite and that his researchers were looking into the legal arguments to reach that end.

I think there is a pretty clear line between broadcast television and cable/satellite television in terms of the quality of the content. If you are paying for cable/sat TV in your home, then you should be savvy enough to self-censor the material you don’t want to see or you don’t want your kids to see. It shouldn’t be the job of the FCC to police every cable network’s programming.

At the same time, broadcast TV, because it uses the public spectrum, should be a safe haven for TV viewing. I have no problem with the FCC fining TV and radio stations for indecency or even yanking licenses. The public has a right to expect a certain standard on the public airwaves, and they’ve empowered the FCC to enforce those standards. Unfortunately, the fines are too low and the licenses don’t get yanked often enough.