Do the Justifications for Regulating Indecent Sexual Content on Broadcast Television Remain Valid Today?

For over fifty years, the federal government has restricted indecent content on broadcast television, to prevent children from being exposed to it. One of the primary justifications for regulating broadcast indecency is the ease with which children could access broadcast content. The justifications for regulating indecency, however, do not apply to cable or streaming television, and as a result, neither do the regulations. However, the television marketplace has radically changed since the U.S. Supreme Court first upheld the authority of the government to regulate broadcast indecency in 1970.

Most significantly, parents today can use the V-Chip to limit the broadcast content to which their children are exposed, undercutting a primary rationale for the regulations. Because the justifications for regulating broadcast indecency are no longer valid, and because the regulations unfairly burden broadcast television compared to its cable and streaming competitors, the broadcast indecency regulations should be eliminated.