* * * Objectional Programming Rules * * *

FCC Objectionable Programming:

	Programming Inciting “Imminent Lawless Action.” The Supreme Court has ruled that the government can curtail speech if it is both: 1. intended to incite or produce “imminent lawless action;” and 2. likely to “incite or produce such action.”
	Even when this legal test is met, any review that might lead to a curtailment of speech is generally performed by the appropriate criminal law enforcement authorities, not by the FCC.

Obscene, Indecent, or Profane Programming.
Although, for the reasons discussed earlier, the Commission is generally prohibited from regulating broadcast content, the courts have held that the FCC’s regulation of obscene and indecent programming is constitutional because of society’s interest in protecting children from potentially harmful programming and supporting parents’ ability to determine the programming their children will be exposed to at home.

Obscene Material:
Obscene material is not protected by the First Amendment and cannot be broadcast at any time.
To be obscene, the material must have all of the following three characteristics:

1.	An average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find that the material, as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest;
2.	The material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable law;  and
3.	The material, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

Indecent Material:

	Indecent material is protected by the First Amendment, so its broadcast cannot constitutionally be prohibited at all times. However, the courts have upheld Congress' prohibition of the broadcast of indecent material during times of the day when there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience, which the Commission has determined to be between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
	Indecent programming is defined as “language or material that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory organs or activities.”

Profane Material:
Profane material also is protected by the First Amendment so its broadcast cannot be outlawed entirely.
The Commission has defined this program matter to include language that is both

	1.	“so grossly offensive to members of the public who actually hear it as to amount to a nuisance” and
	2.	is sexual or excretory in nature or derived from such terms.

This material may be the subject of possible Commission enforcement action if it is broadcast within the same time period applicable to indecent programming: between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.


How to File an Obscenity, Indecency, or Profanity Complaint with the FCC:
In order to allow FCC staff to make a determination of whether complained-of material is actionable, the Commission requires that complainants provide certain information, including:

	1.	the date and time of the alleged broadcast;
	2.	the call sign, channel or frequency of the station involved; and
	3.	the details of what was actually said (or depicted) during the alleged indecent, profane, or obscene broadcast.

Submission of an audio or video tape, CD, DVD or other recording or transcript of the complained-of material is not required but is helpful, as is the specific name of the program, the on-air personality, song, or film, and the city and state in which the complainant saw or heard the broadcast.

The fastest and easiest way to file a complaint on this or any other broadcast issue is to go to the FCC’s complaint page at https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us.