47 U.S.C. § 559
Section 559 · Obscene programming
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 2 court decisions — leading case United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group, Inc. (2000)
Most recently applied in United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group, Inc. (May 2000)
Whoever transmits over any cable system any matter which is obscene or otherwise unprotected by the Constitution of the United States shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1996—Pub. L. 104–104 substituted “under title 18” for “not more than $10,000”.
Effective Date
Section effective 60 days after Oct. 30, 1984, except where otherwise expressly provided, see section 9(a) of Pub. L. 98–549, set out as a note under section 521 of this title.