The Federal Communications Commission’s policy banning even a single “patently offensive” expletive and other profanity on television and radio violates the First Amendment, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
A three-judge panel said the FCC will have to go back to the drawing board if it wants a profanity policy that will survive scrutiny because the current policy is “unconstitutionally vague” and creates a “chilling effect that goes far beyond the fleeting expletives at issue here.”
