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. The FCC 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. Controversial topics involving the FCC include net neutrality (which requires that all legal data on the Internet be treated the same, without any discrimination or charges that vary by user, content, site, platform, application, type of equipment, or mode of communication) and law enforcement’s use, without court orders, ...