In July 2012, the US Supreme Court threw out fines and sanctions against broadcasters who violated the Federal Communications Commission policy regulating curse words and nudity on broadcast television.

In July 2012, the US Supreme Court threw out fines and sanctions against broadcasters who violated the Federal Communications Commission policy regulating curse words and nudity on broadcast television. The justices declined to issue a broad ruling on the constitutionality of the FCC indecency policy. Instead, the court concluded only that broadcasters could not have known in advance that obscenities uttered during awards show programs and a brief display of nudity on an episode of ABC’s NYPD Blue could give rise to sanctions. The justices said the FCC is free to revise its indecency policy. Do you agree with this decision? Do you think television has become too indecent for children? How does the government protect children who watch such shows from hearing expletives?