In many countries, the government controls media so that nobody can publish or broadcast anything that the government considers harmful, immoral or threatening for the stability of the country. Censorship is regulated by a particular body or the government that retains the power base, on the media content. In North America, there are numerous conflicts in terms of censorship, as few people emphasizes that these regulations suppresses there ability to express themselves freely.

We hear strange censorship cases in various media such as publications, entertainment and sports; even after the existence of regulating bodies and social departments; which keeps an eye on the content consumer and content distributor. Common scenarios of censorship are hate-speech, discriminating content, violent content, sexual content, etc. Censorship is primarily vital for minors or adults who are unable to process information.

American censorship is conducted by FCC (Federal Communications Commission), a government body; and Motion Picture Association of America, a private agency.American mainstream publication is primarily dependent on advertisers and subscriptions; which influence the decision of the content. If the content is not relevant or do not interest and entertain the readers, the subscriptions will be definitely dropped. Similarly, advertisers may cancel their account if the advertising content does not pass on the appropriate product message for its sales. Censorship may become very cautious for religious or social content.

One of the most famous scenarios of censorship was in 1978, where US Supreme Court was involved in the George Carlin’s case. The advertisement, which played on television and radio, stated indecent material. The advertisement discussed seven words which were inappropriate to be shown on television and radio. This advertisement was heard by a man in a car along with his school going son; who eventually informed FCC about the impact of the advertisement on the society. He also approached the radio station to hold airing inappropriate material. According to few socialists, a child’s exposure to such an advertisement could impact the next generation of advertising.

Sometimes censorship could not be predicted, which could result in the failure of the regulation. One famous incident happened in the 2004 at Super Bowl XXXVIII, called as ‘wardrobe malfunction’, where at the end of Janet Jackson’s song, her top ripped down for few seconds, showing her breast. FCC fined the broadcast media after the flood of numerous complaints against the incident.

There should always be a proper regulation and control over media for the betterment of the independence of speech, content and information.