The 1st Amendment in the United States’ Constitution has been the subject of heated debate over the years, since “free speech” seems to now cover a multitude of areas never imagined by the Founding Fathers. The case of Larry Flynt comes to mind, owner and founder of adult magazine “Hustler”. The controversial pornography mogul won in a case judged by the Supreme Court, in which he was sued by the late Jerry Falwell. The basis of Flynt’s defense was, of course, the provisions of the 1st Amendment, the ultimate protector of the right to freedom of speech.

There is a fine line between free speech and promoting obscenity, however. And the distinction is forcing authorities to limit as much as possible when it comes to profanities or every day swear-words.

The Supreme Court justices have recently focused on regulating the use of the F and S-word – or rather, completely banning the words – when it comes to them being broadcasted between certain hours, when children and families usually watch television.

John Roberts and Antonin Scalia were strong supporters of “clean” broadcasts and against these two swear-words in particular. John Paul Stevens, however, find the use of the F-word in some contexts as “very funny” and wonders what other words related to sex and excrements the government may wish to ban, giving the example of the word “dung”.

Roberts, on the other hand, as a father of two, gave the example of movie or music award programs, which are now unsuitable for children given the amount of obscenities uttered every second. He agrees, however, that in a sports cast these words are not as offensive, as it all comes down to context for Roberts. Scalia reinforced Roberts’ opinion by stating that he is not convinced by the arguments that people have now become so accustomed to these words that they aren’t offensive anymore.

Their tirade was brought to a halt when their fellow justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, pointed out that the FCC had nothing against the broadcast of “Private Ryan”, filled with curse words, yet a music documentary was criticized because the musicians said quite a few indecent words.

The policy proposed by the government includes sky-high fines for the stations that allow curse words, yet these are sometimes unavoidable in live shows, for instance. The Supreme Court has yet to rule on the case.