This paper examines the government's authority to regulate indecent broadcasts, beginning with a historical overview of the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) involvement with broadcast indecency and its application in case law. First Amendment considerations are discussed and some suggestions are made regarding how the Commission should approach the issue of broadcast indecency. The paper argues that since the Federal Communications Commission's expansion of its enforcement standards against indecent broadcast programming in 1987, the extent to which indecent speech may be regulated consistent with the First Amendment remains unsettled and controversial. (One hundred thirty-seven notes are included.) (Author/RS)