Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation
Facts
In 1973, comedian George Carlin recorded a twelve minute monologue, "Filthy Words" in front of a live audience in California. On the afternoon of October 30th, 1973, WBAI, a New York radio station owned by Pacifica Foundation, broadcast the routine. Soon after, a father wrote to the FCC complaining that his son had heard "Filthy Words", stating that the FCC was not properly regulating the airwaves. Pacifica Foundation received censure from the FCC, who claimed that Pacifica had violated FCC regulations that prohibited broadcasting indecent material. The FCC ruled that the broadcast was not obscene, but it was indecent and aired at an inappropriate time, and that the FCC did have the right to impose sanctions on broadcast times.
The Seven Words are
- Shit
- Piss
- Fuck
- Cunt
- Cocksucker
- Motherfucker
- Tits
