What Are FCC's Obscenity Rules? Stephen Colbert's Trump-Putin Joke Did Not Violate Them

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) concluded its investigations on comedian Stephen Colbert's joke about President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin made during his monolog May 1, on “The Late Show.” It has come to the decision that no action will be taken against the talk show host.

The joke, which was deemed homophobic by many viewers including Trump supporters, had sparked off the #Fire Colbert trend on Twitter. It did not raise a red flag when it came to upholding profanity laws of the FCC.

"Consistent with standard operating procedure, the FCC's Enforcement Bureau has reviewed the complaints and the material that was the subject of these complaints. The Bureau has concluded that there was nothing actionable under the FCC's rules," the FCC said in a statement Tuesday, Rolling Stone reported.

The reason why Colbert walked scot-free might be because of the factors that come into play when FCC scans Television or radio content for obscenity, indecency or profanity.

“Factors in determining how FCC rules apply include the specific nature of the content, the time during which it was broadcasted and the context in which the broadcast took place,” the official website of FCC stated.

Read: 'The Daily Show' Reunion: Stephen Colbert Talks About Trump, Bill O'Reilly

Networks receive a bit more leeway when it comes to the quality of content if the show in question is being aired between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. as the chances of children watching it are minimized. Colbert’s “The Late Show” took advantage of the same loophole.

CBS, the network on which “The Late Show” airs, also followed censor rules like bleeping profane words used by Colbert in his joke and blurring his mouth. Moreover, Colbert’s joke had to meet “a three-pronged test established by the Supreme Court” in order to qualify as obscene content.

FCC rarely doles out penalties for profane content. It has barely issued two fines to television stations for misconduct since 2010, the latest being to Virginia TV station for a sexually explicit video in 2015, NBC News reported.

Read: Stephen Colbert's Trump Comments Lead To FCC Investigation, Talk Show Host May Face Action

If the FCC finds a direct violation of its strictly mandated standards, penalties can range from a stern warning to a hefty fine or in extreme cases, revoking the station’s license.

Despite public outrage on his joke, Colbert refused to issue an apology, saying even though he would “change a few words that were cruder than they need to be," he would not necessarily take the joke back.

Defending himself, Colbert said: “I just want to say for the record, life is short and anyone who expresses their love for another person in their own way is, to me, an American hero. I think we can all agree on that. I hope even the president and I can agree on that. Nothing else. But, that."

In an interview with Time, Trump mentioned that he did not find Colbert’s joke funny. He stated that the talk show host was a “no-talent” guy who uses “filthy” words and says “nothing funny.”

After celebrating the fact that the president mentioned him during one of his speeches, Colbert happily turned Trump’s remarks into yet more content for his monolog for the day. “You're not wrong, I do occasionally use adult language, and I do it in public, instead of the privacy of an Access Hollywood bus,” he said.