What, if any, are the restrictions concerning transmission of language that may be considered indecent or obscene?

FCC Part 97 rules strictly and universally prohibit the transmission of any language that is considered indecent or obscene. This regulation helps maintain amateur radio as a family-friendly and professional service that is safe for people of all ages to monitor. While the prohibition is absolute, neither the FCC nor the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) maintains or publishes a specific, official list of banned words. Instead, operators are expected to exercise common sense and adhere to generally accepted societal standards of decency. Therefore, the distractors claiming the FCC or ITU maintains a list of forbidden words are incorrect, as is the idea that no such prohibition exists on the amateur bands.