The decency standard as it was upheld in 1998 does not preclude or punish the expression of disfavored viewpoints. The Supreme Court formulated the current definition of obscenity in 1973 in the case of Miller v. California . Taken as a whole, it lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. There exists a long history of changing obscenity tests. In this, the latest definition, there were four vigorously dissenting justices, who did not agree there should be any censorship of offensive ideas.
Regulations restricting indecent speech apply in the broadcast media and public telephone services.
The application of the FCC decency standard is justified through the argument that the broadcast media and public telephone services enter every home and are part of the daily life of children. No such argument can be made for art exhibited in museums or galleries. Applying the decency standard to art institutions would imply that adults' cultural consumption should be restricted to what is suitable for children. As a rule when decency in invoked it is in a vague and subjective way. Such subjective uses of the term could potentially make it possible to suppress any work with which the censor disagrees.