Ffcc Vs Pacifica Case Study

I. What is the core issue? The issue at hand is how children are protected from certain things they see on television and how different regulations were set into motion for their protection. When looking at regulations regarding those of censorship and other broadcasting policies such as; advertising, marketing and violence, they are handled by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). As it states on the FCC website they are “an independent United States government agency overseen by the United States Congress. The FCC is responsible with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable.” (Federal Communications Commission). Almost everyone takes obscene, indecent and profane broadcasts seriously, and based on the severity of their context, can be punishable by law. Enforcement actions by the FCC in the form of warnings, impose a monetary forfeiture and or the revoking of a stations licenses can be issued after a complaint is filed and a violation has been confirmed. Airing any form of obscene content at any time is frowned upon, certainly during hours of the day that children would be viewing in which then it is also a “violation of federal law to air indecent programming or profane language during certain hours, which includes any content between 6am

Pacifica, the FCC coined the term "safe harbor" which legally runs from the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. This was established based on the grounds that children seventeen years of age and under are less likely to be a viewer of television programs during those hours. Most content that is featuring a violent background is believed to have a harmful effect on children than fleeting expletives or brief nudity. Research has suggested that younger children ten and under require a different decision than those of children (eleven to seventeen) being protected by the suitable "safe harbor" hours. (Caristi & Davie,