F-Bombs OK? FCC Asks If It Should Ease Swearing, Nudity Ban

Should the Federal Communications Commission lighten up on enforcing its ban on swear words and nudity on broadcast media?

The agency has proposed doing just that—letting "fleeting" violations slide and enforcing its rules only for "eggregious" offenses.

The FCC invited comments for 60 days on the enforcement change in an April 1, 2013 announcement (click on PDF thumnail).

Linda Johnson of Eagan submitted this comment to the FCC on April 11:

I do not want changes made to the decency laws that would allow frontal nudity and the use of the "F"word on radio and television. I have an 11 year old grandson who does not need to see or hear such things. Children should be protected from morally offensive broadcasting, not exposed to it. Furthermore, I would not appreciate being subjected to it, either.

Comments submitted to the FCC are public. You can see them by searching a comment database at the FCC website.

The Minnesota Family Council sent an email April 9 (click on PDF thumbnail) asking people to submit comments such as: "I oppose any changes to the current FCC indecency standards that would allow television and radio stations to broadcast expletives and nudity on the public airwaves, even if brief or 'fleeting.'”

Would you like the FCC to ease its enforcement of indecency rules on TV and radio broadcasters? Leave a comment below.

Click on the YouTube thumbnail (or visit YouTube.com) for an example of the "fleeting expletives" behind the U.S. Supreme Court case cited by the FCC. It's Cher at the 2002 Billboard Music Awards (6:00 mark—profanity warning).