Broadcasting, the FCC, Indecency & the First Amendment: Scrutiny & Debate

Federal law makes it a crime to utter any obscene, indecent, or profane language by means of radio communication. Violators of this statute are subject to fines and imprisonment of up to two years, and the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) may enforce this provision by forfeiture or revocation of a broadcaster’s license. Various federal officials have spoken in favour of extending the FCC’s indecency restriction, which currently applies to broadcast television and radio, to cable and satellite television. This book examines whether such an extension would violate the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech.