When was cursing allowed on television

One case begets another, and given that the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Matal v. The big question may not be the outcome but rather the scope of the forthcoming opinion in Iancu v. Respondent does not explain how the federal government, States, or localities could continue to keep such forums free of sexually explicit and other vulgar material, if such efforts were deemed viewpoint-discriminatory.

The FCC was given an opportunity to come up with new rules, and Ajit Pai at the time expressed a desire for the FCC to make its policy clear and expeditiously process a huge backlog in indecency complaints. Without strong regulatory action on the indecency front, broadcasters may not have injury to pursue a lawsuit. Topics Media Ofcom Television industry news. Reuse this content. Enforcement of the obscenity, indecency and profanity rules usually begins with complaints from the public that FCC staff review for possible violations.

If an investigation is warranted and the FCC finds a station in violation of its rules, it has the authority to revoke a station license, impose a fine or issue an admonishment or warning. Detailed complaints are helpful for analyzing the context of offensive language, images or scenes and determining possible rule violations.

It is also helpful but not a requirement to include a recording or transcript of a broadcast when possible, though any documentation you provide becomes part of the FCC's records and may not be returned. Obscene, Indecent and Profane Broadcasts pdf. Deciding what's obscene, indecent or profane Each type of content has a distinct definition: Obscene content does not have protection by the First Amendment.

What about cable, satellite TV and satellite radio? Though many producers, like black-ish and grown-ish executive producer Laurence Fishburne , who also stars in the former sitcom, relish in newfound freedoms, they exercise discipline and restraint in using it.

He noted how one word in particular -- "bitch" -- is used so much now it's lost some of its bile. It's still not the most popular swear word though: that, according to the Parents Television Council 's study, is a bleeped F-word. And guardrails serve another purpose besides protecting sensitive ears, Fishburne pointed out: "I think sometimes restriction is good because it forces you to be a bit more creative. Of course, premium cable and streaming networks enjoy the most freedom, but even there, the story is often the first gut check for what's OK and what, as Eleanor Shellstrop might say , has no way forking way in hell of getting on TV.

Veep illustrates how vulgarity on good shows anyway makes sense for the characters and setting rather than just existing for vulgarity's sake. And when Scheer does catch an instance in any show's script that seems gratuitous, he's quick to flag it. In TV you're in such a committee The chances of something getting to you that's truly awful that hasn't been flagged by four other people is low.

It's unlikely today that a television writer would have characters spit out offensive terms for minorities, people with physical limitations or the like -- and not just because of their own sensitivity toward these words, but also to spare the wrath of advertisers or special interest groups who could publicly mobilize and pressure the network too.

Hence the late airtime and Mature Audiences label for shows like Atlanta on FX, which, to illustrate how tricky the rules can be, is cleared to sparingly use the F-word and the N-word between characters since it's germane to the story but not in music that plays in the background.

But that's just language. Sex and nudity is a whole other nut to crack.