US BROADCASTERS have been hit by record-breaking fines of almost $4 million (£2.5 million) by a federal TV standards watchdog which decrees that even casual use of the “s-word” or pixelated shots of a woman’s breasts “disturb the peace and quiet of the home”.

Three years of rulings from the Federal Communications Commission, published in full this week, have alarmed the broadcasters which face competition from largely unregulated cable channels. They may now have to scrap live broadcasts, or return to 1970s-style censorship of scripts.

For a country which proudly defends its constitutional right to free speech, including the voracious appetite of many Americans for pornography, the watchdog’s decisions might appear surprising.

But the commission is now chaired by Kevin Martin, a Republican appointed by President Bush to crack down on the indecency that so shocks conservative sensibilities. “The number of complaints received by the commission has risen year after year,” Mr Martin said. “I share the concerns of the public — and of parents, in particular.”

Between 2002 and 2005 the agency received 300,000 complaints about television shows.

The commission has ruled that any use of the “f-word”, such as that by Bono during a a Golden Globe Awards ceremony in 2004, is unacceptable. Its report also puts broadcasters on notice that the “s-word” will also be subject to fines if broadcast between 6 and 10pm.

It decreed that the Fox Television Network had violated decency standards during the 2003 Billboard Music Awards when Nicole Richie asked: “Have you ever tried to get cow shit out of a Prada purse?”

KCSM-TV in San Mateo, California, was fined $15,000 for the graphic language in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed documentary on blues music, The Blues: Godfathers and Sons.

The commission permitted the use of the “f-word” in Tom Hanks’s film Saving Private Ryan, because deleting it “would have altered the nature of the artistic work and diminished the power, realism and immediacy of the experience for viewers”.

But this was not the case in The Blues — “the purpose of which could have been fulfilled and all viewpoints expressed without the repeated broadcast of expletives”.

One commissioner, Jonathan Adelstein, dissented. He said: “Coarse language is a part of the culture of the individuals being portrayed. [The ruling] is certain to strike fear in the hearts of news and documentary makers, and broadcasters that air them, which could chill the future expression of constitutionally protected free speech.”

The biggest fine — $3.6 million — was meted out to CBS, for an episode broadcast by dozens of its stations of the prime-time drama Without a Trace. It featured a “teen orgy” party scene that included at least three shots depicting intercourse.

The commission also upheld a $550,000 fine against CBS for the infamous “wardrobe malfunction” incident at the Super Bowl 2004 in which Janet Jackson’s clothing was ripped, revealing the singer’s breast.

More alarming for broadcasters was the $27,500 fine on WBDC for airing an episode of The Surreal Life 2 that included pixelated views of frontal nudity and a shot of a man touching a breast.

James Baughman, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who has written a history of the commission, said: “I don’t think that the FCC would dare to do this if it didn’t feel there was strong congressional support for this kind of action.”

BROADCAST FINES

The Surreal Life: 2 — Pool Party
WBDC (The WB Network)

Complaint: Episode features a pool party hosted by porn star Ron Jeremy that “contains approximately 20 pixelated images of nude adults and focuses almost entirely on men and women disrobing, ogling, fondling, kissing and sexually propositioning one another during a pool party”. $27,000 fine

The Simpsons — Hunka Hunka Burns In Love
(Fox Television Network)

Complaint: The episode features Mr Burns and Smithers in a strip club, where female cartoon characters wear underwear and dance around poles. No penalty