Washington - Cable television operators cannot be required to block fully signals from channels with explicit sexual programming, the US Supreme Court ruled yesterday. The 5-4 court ruling was a victory for the Playboy Entertainment Group, which had challenged as unconstitutional the section of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 dealing with the measure.
Playboy had challenged the law that required cable operators to scramble fully or block signals from adult programmes between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when children were likely to be watching. Because current scrambling technology allows some "signal bleed," allowing viewers to see some portion of the programme, most cable operators opted under the law simply to cancel Playboy during those hours.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, said any measure aimed at restricting a particular type of expression violated constitutional guarantees of free speech.