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I have a similar
[question](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/4940/what-are-the-anime-
censorship-laws-in-japan) to ask. What are the anime censorship laws in the
United States? There appears to be major culture difference between United
States and Japan and I am not sure if that implies a difference between their
respective anime censorship laws.


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anime-production culture censorship
What are the anime censorship laws in the United States?


The FCC, the government body responsible for broadcasting media, does not have
any specific laws against animation that comes from Japan, otherwise known as
anime. [Because the 1st amendment protects the Freedom of
Expression,](http://censorship.laws.com/censorship/censorship-laws) [the
censorship laws that are in place and enforced by the FCC in the U.S are
concerned with obscenity, indecency, and
profanity.](http://www.fcc.gov/guides/obscenity-indecency-and-profanity) The
short summary of the law is that, for media to be prohibited to be aired on
television from 6 a.m to 10 p.m, it must:

  * Not be acceptable to the average person.
  * Depict anything that violates other existing laws, such as child pornography.
  * Lack any artistic, scientific, political, or literary values.
  * Contain greatly offensive language or otherwise known as profanity.

This is arguably vague, but usually if it meets some of the criteria above, it
would be permitted. For example, a satirical anime on U.S politics would
probably not be acceptable to the average person and can be offensive.
However, if it contains a good amount of political value in the work and does
not violate any other existing laws, it would be permitted. [Even lolicon
material is permitted as it meets some of the criteria above, although it is a
murky territory and can land you in legal trouble
nonetheless.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_status_of_cartoon_pornography_depicting_minors#United_States)

Note that this is also the criteria used in courts for media in general, also
known as the [Miller Test.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller_test)

Censorship are also in place for libel and slander, but it would be extremely
difficult for anyone creating anime to be prosecuted for such things as it
would have to lack any artistic, scientific, political, etc. values.

The censorship that you see in anime imported from Japan and translated into
English are self-imposed. Different studios handles it differently. For
example, the infamous 4Kids Corporation would blatantly westernize the anime
it imports, replacing Japanese food with American food, removing highly
emotional scenes, and much more. There are also [non-governmental ratings made
by independent organizations such as the
MPAA](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Association_of_America_film_rating_system)
and [government imposed ratings such as the TV Parental
Guideline](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_Parental_Guidelines). Theaters and
TV stations would follow these ratings to show what is and what is not
appropriate to show in what timeslot, in addition to the FCC rules described
earlier. Keep in mind that these ratings have no legal weight. A TV-MA rated
content can be shown at any time of the day and no one would be prosecuted for
it. People would probably think less of your network and so TV stations follow
these ratings to keep their audience, but it is not illegal to ignore the
ratings.

In summary, as long as it passes the Miller Test, it should be legal.


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