"We find that the fleeting uses of the words 'penis', 'vaginal', 'ass', 'bastard' and 'bit

ch' uttered in the context of the programs cited in the complaints, do not render the material patently offensive under contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium." Making decisions like this is one of the more thankless tasks of America's media regulator, the Federal Communications Commission. Since 1927 the FCC has tried to protect children from "indecency"—sexual content and swear words—on broadcast television and radio.

Under pressure from social conservatives, America's politicians are now threatening to extend indecency regulation further. If they get their way, not just broadcast television and radio but cable and satellite TV, and possibly satellite radio, would be monitored by the FCC for indecency. America's media firms have been shaken by this threat.

Every society, of course, has the right to protect children from adult material. But increasing censorship by the central government is the wrong way to go about this. A wiser course would be to eliminate the government's role and rely more on parents. Fortunately, changes in technology and the media industry itself now make this approach more feasible than ever.

Television has changed beyond recognition since indecency rules were first imposed. In 1978 the Supreme Court upheld the FCC's right to punish indecency on the grounds that broadcasters had what it called a "uniquely pervasive presence in the lives of all Americans." Back then, that was a plausible argument. But with television fragmenting in to so many outlets such unique pervasiveness no longer prevails. Over four-fifths of American households, for instance, subscribe to cable or satellite television. They are just as likely to be watching one of the hundreds of cable channels they have at home as one of the main six broadcast networks. With so much choice, avoiding the indecent is easier than it was 30 years ago when most people had only three channels.

At the same time, new technology now allows families to filter the television they receive. Cable and satellite TV come with set-top boxes that can screen out individual channels. Digital cable set-top boxes are particularly precise, and allow parents to block individual programmes at the touch of a button on their remote control. Every new television set sold in America since 2000 is equipped with a "v-chip", a blocking device that Bill Clinton forced on the media industry in 1996. It is only thanks to the v-chip and set-top boxes, in fact, that children get any protection from violence, since the FCC regulates only sex and bad language. America is the only country where blocking technology is already in the vast majority of homes, thanks to the ubiquity of pay television. But it is likely soon to be available elsewhere as well.

The unique function of up-to-date technological devices lies in its

A．capability of keeping the young from violence.

B．context of contemporary community.

C．complaints of programs.

D．standards for the broadcast media.