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The seven dirty words are seven words that were prohibited from use on broadcast media in the United States, including both over-the-air television and radio stations. The original list of seven is:
History
Comedian George Carlin recorded a monologue that was called "Filthy Words". (Carlin's monologue word for word (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=438&invol=726#751)) The monologue was played on Pacifica radio station WBAI-FM. A man complained to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) because his son had heard the broadcast.
The FCC asked Pacifica for a response, then issued a declaratory order upholding the complaint. No specific sanctions were included in the order, but WBAI was put on notice that "in the event subsequent complaints are received, the Commission will then decide whether it should utilize any of the available sanctions it has been granted by Congress."
Pacifica appealed against this decision, which was overturned by the Court of Appeals. The FCC in turn appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the FCC, see: FCC v. Pacifica Foundation 438 U.S. 726 (1978).
This decision formally established indecency regulation in American broadcasting. In follow-up rulings, the FCC clarified that the words might be acceptable under certain circumstances, particularly at times when children would not be expected to be in the audience.
In the 2000s, tits and piss are generally no longer prohibited from broadcast over public airwaves in the United States, with shit often allowed as well.
It is important to note that FCC regulations only apply to broadcast networks; cable networks are not officially regulated. However, many cable networks censor their programming regardless because of the pressure put on them by advertisers. Once that obstacle is dealt with, the seven dirty words are fair game: see most FX original series and Comedy Central's airing of the South Park episode "It Hits The Fan" (during which shit is uttered 162 times in one half hour) and the R-rated film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. These shows all air later at night, usually after 2100 hrs.
Related topics
de:Sieben schmutzige Wörter
ja:放送禁止用語
zh:七大脏词
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