The protracted legal fight over broadcast indecency is continuing after the Supreme Court wiped out penalties against three TV networks but left the constitutionality of the Federal Communications Commission's policy unresolved. Now, the FCC faces pressures from broadcasters and free-speech advocates on one side and anti-indecency groups on the other over how to deal with a backlog of 1.5 million pending complaints about sex and vulgarity on radio and television. Federal law prohibits obscenity, indecency or profanity on broadcast channels, though not on cable or satellite systems. The FCC tightened its policy in recent years to prohibit even a "fleeting" use of the F- or S-word and began imposing costly penalties against stations in indecency cases. Broadcasters say the policy limits their ability to compete with cable systems, but anti-indecency groups say over-the-air television should be kept as family-friendly as possible. Many legal experts say, however, that the proliferation of other media may lead the courts eventually to strike down the law.

Kenneth Jost is Supreme Court editor, CQ Press; associate editor, CQ Researcher; and author of The Supreme Court Yearbook since the 1992-1993 edition.