If a couple of congressmen have their way, ads for Cialis or Viagra would fall under the FCC's definition of indecency
and be relegated to late evening and overnight time periods under potential penalty of hundreds of thousands of
dollars in fines for stations.
A bill introduced last week by Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA)--he has one co-sponsor so far, Republican Rep. Robert Brady of Texas--would effectively ban broadcasters from airing any ad for erectile disfunction or "male enhancement" between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., essentially mandating that such ads fall under the FCC's enforcement of indecency.
Indecent content must be confined to 10 p.m.-6 a.m. per the FCC's indecency enforcement regime, which just got a shot in the arm from a Supreme Court ruling upholding its justification for pursuing fleeting profanities.
The bill, dubbed the Families for ED Advertising Decency Act, would still allow ED drugs as product placements, just
not as traditional advertising spots.
The FCC can fine a station up to $325,000 per indecency violation.
Moran has tried to introduce the bill in the past without success.
