Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an agency of the U.S. government. Independent of the Executive Branch, it reports directly to the U.S. Congress. It was established by Congress in the Communications Act of 1934. Its purpose is to ensure that the nation's various communications systems work together and services and prices are in the best interest of the consumer, and it has the specific authority to regulate the broadcast of obscene, indecent, or profane language. Recent controversies include the “wardrobe malfunction,” which enabled viewers of Super Bowl XXXVII to view pop singer Janet Jackson's breast for 19/32 of a second, about which the FCC received more than half a million complaints, causing it to move to a zero-tolerance response; and the $2.5 million in ...