The ABC Television Affiliates Association told a federal court Friday that the FCC was wrong to levy indecency fines on 45 stations for airing a fleeting scene of an actress' backside in a 2003 episode of NYPD Blue.

But they did not challenge the FCC's authority to regulate indecency under clearly defined rules applied with restraint. "The affiliates do not challenge Pacifica, and they accept the special treatment under Red Lion." Those were the Supreme Court cases that upheld the FCC's authority to regulate indecency content based on broadcasting's "unique" pervasiveness and the scarcity of spectrum.

The FCC had fined the ABC affiliates the then-maximum $27,500 a piece earlier this year after taking no action until the five-year statute of limitations had almost run out. ABC challenged the decision, but the FCC was unpersuaded. ABC then paid the fines so that it could take the commission to court.

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