The US government's policy of fining broadcasters over the use of even a single swear word on live TV is justified¹, the Supreme² Court has ruled.

美最高法院做出规定，美国政府的关于澄清播音员在直播期间对于宣誓词语的使用是合理的。

The policy followed swearing by Bono at the 2003 Golden Globes

The "fleeting³（飞逝的） expletives（填补物）" policy, introduced in 2004, was on hold after a legal challenge by TV company Fox.

The Federal Communications Commission introduced the rule after Bono swore at the 2003 Golden Globes. It previously⁴ had a "one free expletive" rule.

Justice Antonin Scalia said the new policy had been "entirely⁵ rational（合理的，理性的）".

Fox's legal challenge stemmed from（源于） a 2006 FCC ruling that the network had violated decency⁶（得体，礼貌） during its broadcast of the Billboard⁷ Music Awards at which celebrities⁸ had sworn.

The network, together with ABC, NBC and CBS, legally challenged the FCC policy by arguing that the decency（得体，礼貌） standard was unclear and undermined free speech protections.

The policy was put on hold after a New York appeals court ruled in favour of Fox, saying the FCC had not adequately（足够地，充分地） explained the change and that it was arbitrary（任意的，恣意的） and vague（模糊的，不明确的）.

'Rational'

But, on Tuesday, the Supreme Court voted by five to four, overturning the ruling stating the policy was "neither arbitrary nor capricious（变化无常的，任性的）".

"The agency's reasons for expanding its enforcement activity, moreover, were entirely rational," Justice Scalia said.

The FCC had changed its policy on fleeting expletives that denote（指示，表示） "sexual or excretory（排泄的） activities" as part of a crackdown（压迫，镇压） on indecency on TV.

"Even when used as an expletive, the F-word's power to insult and offend derives⁹（源自，起源） from its sexual meaning," Justice Scalia added.

The Supreme Court justices said the reinstated policy may now go before a federal appeals court to judge whether it breached¹⁰（违背） free speech laws.