In broadcast law

Broadcast law

Broadcast law is the field of law which pertains to broadcasting. These laws and regulations pertain to radio stations and TV stations, and are also considered to include closely related services like cable TV and cable radio, as well as satellite TV and satellite radio...

 (particularly within U.S. law), the pervasiveness doctrine is the doctrine

Doctrine

Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...

 that because broadcast radio wave

Radio Wave

Radio Wave may refer to:*Radio frequency*Radio Wave 96.5, a radio station in Blackpool, UK...

s are available to anyone and therefore "uniquely pervasive", their content

Content (media and publishing)

In media production and publishing, content is information and experiences that may provide value for an end-user/audience in specific contexts. Content may be delivered via any medium such as the internet, television, and audio CDs, as well as live events such as conferences and stage performances...

 is subject to regulation. In general, profanity

Profanity

Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...

 and sex

Sex

In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...

, or other adult material deemed "indecent" by a broadcasting authority may not be broadcast outside of overnight "watershed" or "safe harbor" hours when children are likely to be awake. Material deemed "obscene" may still be prohibited at all times.

This has generally been held to only apply to the AM broadcast band (mediumwave

Mediumwave

Medium wave is the part of the medium frequency radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. For Europe the MW band ranges from 526.5 kHz to 1606.5 kHz...

), FM broadcast band

FM broadcast band

The FM broadcast band, used for FM broadcast radio by radio stations, differs between different parts of the world. In Europe and Africa , it spans from 87.5 to 108.0 megahertz , while in America it goes only from 88.0 to 108.0 MHz. The FM broadcast band in Japan uses 76.0 to 90 MHz...

 (VHF band II), and TV broadcast bands (VHF band I

Band I

Band I is the name of a radio frequency range within the very high frequency part of the electromagnetic spectrum.Band I ranges from 47 to 88 MHz, and it is primarily used for radio and television broadcasting....

 and band III

Band III

Band III is the name of a radio frequency range within the very high frequency part of the electromagnetic spectrum.Band III ranges from 174 to 230 MHz, and it is primarily used for radio and television broadcasting...

, and UHF). It does not apply to cable TV, cable radio

Cable radio

Cable radio or cable FM is a concept similar to that of cable television, bringing radio signals into homes and businesses via coaxial cable. It is generally used as cable TV was in its early days when it was "community antenna television", to enhance the quality of terrestrial radio signals that...

, satellite TV, satellite radio

Satellite radio

Satellite radio is an analogue or digital radio signal that is relayed through one or more satellites and thus can be received in a much wider geographical area than terrestrial FM radio stations...

, or other forms of electronic media, because although they also use publicly-owned airwaves, these are subscription services which the listener or viewer must explicitly request, and are subject to conditional access

Conditional access

Conditional Access is the protection of content by requiring certain criteria to be met before granting access to this content...

, analog scrambling

Scrambler

In telecommunications, a scrambler is a device that transposes or inverts signals or otherwise encodes a message at the transmitter to make the message unintelligible at a receiver not equipped with an appropriately set descrambling device...

, or digital encryption

Encryption

In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...

.

The origin of the name comes from the Federal Communications Commission

Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...

's 1978 legal case against Pacifica Radio

Pacifica Radio

Pacifica Radio is the oldest public radio network in the United States. It is a group of five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations that is known for its progressive/liberal political orientation. It is also a program service supplying over 100 affiliated...

, when the U.S. Supreme Court used the term to justify the verdict against the broadcaster. The Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation

Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation

Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726 is a landmark United States Supreme Court decision that defined the power of the Federal Communications Commission over indecent material as applied to broadcasting...

case is considered a landmark for American broadcasters.