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[font face=Times, Times New Roman, Serif][font size=5]Obscenity, Indecency and Profanity[/font]

[font size=4]It’s Against the Law[/font]

[font size=3]It is a violation of federal law to air obscene programming at any time. It is also a violation of federal law to air indecent programming or profane language during certain hours. Congress has given the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the responsibility for administratively enforcing these laws. The FCC may revoke a station license, impose a monetary forfeiture or issue a warning if a station airs obscene, indecent or profane material.

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[font size=4]Indecent Broadcast Restrictions[/font]

The FCC has defined broadcast indecency 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.” Indecent programming contains patently offensive sexual or excretory material that does not rise to the level of obscenity.

The courts have held that indecent material is protected by the First Amendment and cannot be banned entirely. It may, however, be restricted in order to avoid its broadcast during times of the day when there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience.

Consistent with a federal indecency statute and federal court decisions interpreting the statute, the Commission adopted a rule that broadcasts -- both on television and radio -- that fit within the indecency definition and that are aired between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. are prohibited and subject to indecency enforcement action.

[font size=4]Profane Broadcast Restrictions[/font]

The FCC has defined profanity as “including language so grossly offensive to members of the public who actually hear it as to amount to a nuisance.”

Like indecency, profane speech is prohibited on broadcast radio and television between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

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[font face=Times, Times New Roman, Serif][font size=5]Limbaugh: Student Denied Spot At Contraception Hearing Says "She Must Be Paid To Have Sex," So She's A "Slut" And "Prostitute"[/font]

February 29, 2012 2:46 pm ET

[font size=3]From the February 29 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:

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[font face=Times, Times New Roman, Serif][font size=5]Limbaugh: Sandra Fluke Is "Having So Much Sex, It's Amazing She Can Still Walk"[/font]

March 01, 2012 3:52 pm ET

[font size=3]From the March 1 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:

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[font face=Times, Times New Roman, Serif][font size=5]Limbaugh: Fluke Said She's "Having Sex So Frequently That She Can't Afford All The Birth Control Pills That She Needs"[/font]

March 02, 2012 3:13 pm ET

[font size=3]From the March 2 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:

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[font face=Times, Times New Roman, Serif][font size=5]Limbaugh Further Denigrates Fluke, Saying She Has Boyfriends "Lined Up Around The Block. They Would Have Been In My Day"[/font]

March 02, 2012 3:33 pm ET

[font size=3]From the March 2 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:

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