''Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation'', 438 U.S. 726 (1978), was a
landmark decision
Landmark court decisions, in present-day common law legal systems, establish precedents that determine a significant new legal principle or concept, or otherwise substantially affect the interpretation of existing law. "Leading case" is commonly ...
of the
US Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
that defined the power of the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
(FCC) over
indecent material as applied to broadcasting.
Facts
On October 30, 1973,
FM radio station WBAI
WBAI (99.5 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station licensed to New York, New York. Its programming is a mixture of political news, talk and opinion from a left-leaning, liberal or progressive viewpoint, and eclectic musi ...
in New York City aired a broadcast that included a segment which featured the
George Carlin
George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American comedian, actor, author, and social critic. Regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercul ...
routine "
Filthy Words" as part of a program about societal attitudes toward language. A few weeks later, John Douglas (an active member of
Morality in Media) stated in a complaint filed with the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
(FCC) that he heard the broadcast while he was driving with his 15-year-old son. He also stated the material was inappropriate for the time of day (approximately 2:00 p.m.). In response, the
Pacifica Foundation
Pacifica Foundation is an American non-profit organization that owns five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations known for their progressive/liberal political orientation. Its national headquarters adjoins sta ...
(owner of WBAI) received a letter of reprimand from the FCC, censuring them for allegedly violating broadcast regulations which prohibited airing indecent material.
Holding
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the FCC's actions in 1978, by a vote of 5 to 4, ruling that the routine was "indecent but not
obscene
An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be us ...
". The Court recognized the government had strong interests in:
* Shielding children from potentially offensive material, and
* Ensuring that unwanted speech does not intrude on the privacy of one's home.
The ''Pacifica'' Court upheld the FCC's power to regulate broadcast media, citing two pervading governmental interests. First, the “uniquely pervasive” nature of these broadcasts allows them to seep into “the privacy of the home” without the consent of the viewer. Second, broadcasts are “uniquely accessible to children” whose “vocabulary
ould be enlarged Ould is an English surname and an Arabic name ( ar, ولد). In some Arabic dialects, particularly Hassaniya Arabic, ولد (the Patronymic surname, patronymic, meaning "son of") is transliterated as Ould. Most Mauritania, Mauritanians have ...
in an instant” by hearing indecent or profane language. The Court held that these two concerns were sufficient to “justify special treatment of indecent broadcasting,” thereby allowing the FCC to fine broadcasters for airing inappropriate content.
The Court stated that the FCC had the authority to prohibit such broadcasts during hours when children were likely to be among the audience, and gave the FCC broad leeway to determine what constituted indecency in different contexts.
Impact
At first, despite the resounding win in ''Pacifica'', the FCC used its new regulatory powers sparingly. In the 1990s, however, the FCC ramped up sanctions for indecent broadcasts. By the early 2000s, the FCC began to levy more sanctions with higher dollar amounts—with fines of up to $500,000 for some offenses.
In 1997, Pacifica Radio "Living Room" host
Larry Bensky
Larry Bensky (born May 1, 1937) is a literary and political journalist with experience in both print and broadcast media, as well as a teacher and political activist. He is known for his work with Pacifica Radio station KPFA-FM in Berkeley, Cali ...
prefaced an interview with Carlin by saying: "George Carlin, you're a very unusual guest for Pacifica Radio. You're probably the only person in the United States that we don't have to give The Carlin Warning to about which words you can't say on this program, because it's named after you."
In 1996, Congress passed the
Communications Decency Act
The Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA) was the United States Congress's first notable attempt to regulate pornographic material on the Internet. In the 1997 landmark case '' Reno v. ACLU'', the United States Supreme Court unanimously struck ...
, which criminalized the knowing transmission of "obscene or indecent" messages to underage people on the Internet. In ''
Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union'' (1997), the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". ...
claimed that the act violated First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech for adult Internet users. To attain standing, the ACLU published the Supreme Court's opinion on ''F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation'' on its website, which included a transcript of Carlin's monologue.
See also
*
*
''Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations'' (2009)
*
''Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations'' (2012)
* ''
Miller v. California
''Miller v. California'', 413 U.S. 15 (1973), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court modifying its definition of obscenity from that of "utterly without socially redeeming value" to that which lacks "serious literary, artistic, poli ...
'' 413 U.S. 15 (1973).
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Federal Communications Commission V. Pacifica Foundation
Censorship of broadcasting in the United States
Obscenity law
Federal Communications Commission litigation
Pacifica Foundation
United States Supreme Court cases
United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court
United States Free Speech Clause case law
1978 in United States case law
Media case law
History of radio
1978 in radio
George Carlin