FCC V. Fox Television Stations and the Fcc's New Fleeting Expletive Policy‪.‬

I. INTRODUCTION In the nearly forty years since the beginning of the FCC's regulation of indecency, that regulation has expanded greatly. The FCC's indecency policy had its origin in an FCC case decided in 1970. (1) That case emphasized the narrow scope of FCC indecency regulation. In FCC v. Fox Television Stations, the fleeting expletive case, the Supreme Court further extended the life of this policy. (2) A fleeting expletive refers to the broadcast of a single expletive. (3) Until recently, the broadcast of a fleeting expletive did not violate the FCC's indecent speech policy. (4) To understand fleeting expletives, some background on the concept of indecent speech is necessary. FCC indecency regulation is based on a statute, 18 U.S.C. [section] 1464, which provides that broadcasting "any obscene, indecent or profane language" is subject to fine or imprisonment. (5)