History Main / CensorshipBureau

* After UsefulNotes/WorldWarII it was prohibited in Finland to do anything that could be seen as "damaging the relationship between Finland and Soviet Union". This led to self-censorship where people who translated foreign comics often changed the words so that they could not be seen as anti-communist. One example included changing "These watches from workers paradise are worthless" to "These [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse McDuck]] watches are worthless". In another one phrase "Viva la Revolution!" became "Turn off the lights!"

* In UsefulNotes/{{France}}, the law about publications intended for youth was really strictly enforced in 50s to 80s. It was so strict about violence that guns would be replaced with [[FingerGun pointed fingers]], and it was so strict about sex that many comics avoided showing romance outright -- or even female characters at all, leading to a lot of {{Chaste Hero}}es (and {{Heterosexual Life Partner}}s). Most strangely, the law was often used to target foreign comics, which would be banned under any pretense. They even did this to Belgian comics (which are so similar to French ones that many Europeans couldn't tell the difference). Magazines like ''Spirou'' would inaugurate new series whose main purpose was to enhance their image to the censors.

* Most governments have Censorship Bureaus of some sort. Dictatorships, though, tend to be more concerned with politics than sex and violence. This can lead to some interesting situations:

* Starting in 1986, Creator/{{Nintendo}} of America leaned on third-party publishers to remove all references to religion, drugs, alcohol, and adult situations from their games. They enforced this with the "Nintendo Seal of Quality" -- although it was created to avoid UsefulNotes/{{Shovelware}} on their system, they could withhold it from any game that didn't meet their moral standards as well. Without the seal, developers wouldn't have access to the [[CopyProtection patented game cartridges]] for the system. This was largely in response to very powerful MoralGuardians in TheEighties and the emergence of the trope UltraSuperDeathGoreFestChainsawer3000 -- after that, the ESRB was established to rate video games. Sega wouldn't let Nintendo forget, though, and its marketing slapped a "kiddie" label on Nintendo that [[NeverLiveItDown the company still can't shake]].

* Starting in TheNewTens, Creator/SonyInteractiveEntertainment has started imposing a vague set of restrictions on sexual content in games released on PlayStation consoles. The most obvious games affected by this were explicit VisualNovels, one of which was ironically released on UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch uncut, while the [=PS4=] version had its content {{Bowdlerized}}. Meanwhile, the most visible game altered has been ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'', which has the nudity of one of its bosses censored in the [=PS4=] version but untouched in the other ones.

* UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode, as outlined in its own article, was a very restrictive censorship bureau enacted in response to a [[MoralGuardians moral panic]] about violent or suggestive comic books. It greatly reduced the range of possible plots in an effort to avoid EvilIsCool, but this meant [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks the typical plot]] was something like "dinosaurs in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII" or "ComicBook/JimmyOlsen switching brains with a gorilla" (which happened ''[[http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=31&Itemid=47 twice]]'').

* Starting in TheNewTens, Creator/SonyInteractiveEntertainment has started imposing a vague set of restrictions on sexual content in games released on PlayStation consoles. The most obvious games affected by this were explicit VisualNovels, one of which was ironically released on UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch uncut and with an M-rating, while the [=PS4=] version had its content edited down to merit an E-rating. Meanwhile, the most visible game altered has been ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'', which has the nudity of one of its bosses censored in the [=PS4=] version but untouched in the other ones.

* Starting in TheNewTens, Creator/SonyInteractiveEntertainment has started imposing a vague set of restrictions on sexual content in games released on PlayStation consoles. The most obvious games affected by this were explicit VisualNovels, one of which was ironically released on UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch uncut and with an M-rating, while the [=PS4=] version had it's content edited down to merit an E-rating. Meanwhile, the most visible game altered has been ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'', which has the nudity of one of its bosses censored in the [=PS4=] version but untouched in the other ones.

* Wal-Mart refuses to stock [=CDs=] with a Parental Advisory label [[DoubleStandard (despite selling M-rated video games and R-rated movies)]]. Since Wal-Mart is the world's largest retailer, this causes many artists to make clean versions of their music, even if they wouldn't do so otherwise.
* Franco's Spain had been known to go to great lengths to censor overly sexual scenarios and imagery. When Music/TheWho released ''Quadrophenia'' in the country in 1973, the censor removed liner notes for objectionable lyrics, deleted "Doctor Jimmy", and painted a BlackBraAndPanties over the naked women on the posters in Jimmy's room -- by hand.

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* In December 2014, Australian retailer Target has banned the recent GTA game due to a petition from sex workers that [[ https://www.news.com.au/technology/home-entertainment/gaming/target-pulls-gta5-from-shelves-after-a-sex-workers-campaign-to-shut-down-grand-theft-auto-v-due-to-its-sexual-violence/news-story/44babbe6184dded48e4c2c9dfdbb72e5 encourages violence against woman]]
* Prior to GTA V banned from Target and other major Australian retailers such as Kmart, New Zealand retailer The Warehouse has decided not only they ban GTA V from their shelves but also bans anything rated R18 on it. [[https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/games/63516123/warehouse-playing-games-with-r18-ban Unfortunately, the retailer is turning into a Walmart clone]]

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* The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the American government entity which effectively owns the TV and radio airwaves, and as such, it has a lot of say in what can be shown there. Although it can't file criminal charges, it can levy very large fines. It doesn't even ''publish'' a list of its standards--in this department, it makes its decisions on the basis of precedent through a quasi-judicial process[[note]]Please note that this method is entirely acceptable in American administrative law. Under the Administrative Procedure Act and the [[UsefulNotes/AmericanCourts Supreme Court]]'s jurisprudence, an administrative agency like the FCC is permitted to develop its law through the quasi-legislative process of administrative rulemaking or the quasi-judicial process of administrative adjudication. Adjudication is a ''lot'' less work than rulemaking, and also is more suited to fields where there are a lot of judgment calls and context-dependent issues and shades of gray. The FCC is not the only agency to operate this way; the biggest agency to rely on adjudicative processes is actually the National Labor Relations Board. Agencies don't have to do just one thing, either: the FCC uses rulemaking on other matters, like technical standards, licensing requirements for broadcasters, and unexpected stuff like 911 services, but decided to use adjudicative processes for decency standards because of the difficulty in developing clear rules that didn't lead to absurdity.[[/note]]--so a lot of works rely on [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar guesswork]]. One of its most famous punishments was a $325,000 fine for Creator/JanetJackson flashing the audience at the 2004 UsefulNotes/SuperBowl; but the record is $1.2 million, for a Creator/{{FOX}} reality show called ''Married by America'' in which someone licked whipped cream off a woman's censored nipples.

* All governments have Censorship Bureaus of some sort. Dictatorships, though, tend to be more concerned with politics than sex and violence. This can lead to some interesting situations:

-->--'''The Creator/{{FOX}} Censor''', ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''

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** ''Anime/VoltesV'' was banned in the Philippines for its portrayal of a rebellion against a dictator. This completely backfired, as the SuperRobot show was taken up as a symbol of the ''real'' ongoing revolution against the ruling dictatorship in the Philippines.

** Franco's Spain had been known to go to great lengths to censor overly sexual scenarios and imagery. When Music/TheWho released ''Quadrophenia'' in the country in 1973, the censor removed liner notes for objectionable lyrics, deleted "Doctor Jimmy", and painted a BlackBraAndPanties over the naked women on the posters in Jimmy's room -- by hand.

See also AnimationAgeGhetto for a similar phenomenon.

** Most Roman emperors would censor things strictly, but a key exception was the first, Creator/GaiusJuliusCaesar, who considered his arch-enemy Marcus Porcius Cato something of a WorthyOpponent and refused to censor his literature, even when it was outright critical of him.

** Franco's Spain had been known to go to great lengths to censor overly sexual scenarios and imagery. When Music/TheWho released ''Quadrophenia'' in the country in 1973, the censored removed liner notes for objectionable lyrics, deleted "Doctor Jimmy", and painted a BlackBraAndPanties over the naked women on the posters in Jimmy's room -- by hand.

* The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the American government entity which effectively owns the TV and radio airwaves, and as such, it has a lot of say in what can be shown there. Although it can't file criminal charges, it can levy very large fines. It doesn't even ''publish'' a list of its standards--in this department, it makes its decisions on the basis of precedent through a quasi-judicial process[[note]]Please note that this method is entirely acceptable in American administrative law. Under the Administrative Procedure Act and the [[UsefulNotes/AmericanCourts Supreme Court]]'s jurisprudence, an administrative agency like the FCC is permitted to develop its law through the quasi-legislative process of administrative rulemaking or the quasi-judicial process of administrative adjudication. Adjudication is a ''lot'' less work than rulemaking, and also is more suited to fields where there are a lot of judgment calls and context-dependent issues and shades of gray. The FCC is not the only agency to operate this way; the biggest agency to rely on adjudicative processes is actually the National Labor Relations Board. Agencies don't have to do just one thing, either: the FCC uses rulemaking on other matters, like technical standards, licensing requirements for broadcasters, and unexpected stuff like 911 services, but decided to use adjudicative processes for decency standards because of the difficulty in developing clear rules that didn't lead to absurdity.[[/note]]--so a lot of works rely on [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar guesswork]]. One of its most famous punishments was a $325,000 fine for Creator/JanetJackson flashing the audience at the 2004 UsefulNotes/SuperBowl; but the record is $1.2 million, for a Creator/{{FOX}} reality show called ''Married by America'' in which someone licked whipped cream off a woman's censored nipples. They've also been known to bend easily to the pressure of MoralGuardians. As ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' [[TakeThat puts it]]:
-->Well, one complaint represents one billion people.

A self-governing body with a censorship code, most visible (and most likely to receive mention) when that code is so draconian and unreasonable in its restrictions that it cripples an entire artistic medium. It usually comes about due to the pleas of the MoralGuardians and {{Media Watchdog}}s, but sometimes, it will come about due to some other circumstances (''e.g.'' the beliefs of a specific corporation).

Note that most of these were created in fear of an even ''more'' draconian code being forced on the medium from outside, but with many of these examples, it's hard to imagine how they could be any worse.

A self-governing body with a censorship code, most visible (and most likely to receive mention) when that code is so draconian and unreasonable in its restrictions that it cripples an entire artistic medium. It usually comes about due to the pleas of the MoralGuardians and {{Media Watchdog}}s, but sometimes, it will come about due to some other circumstances (''e.g.'' the beliefs of a specific corporation); regardless, the presence of such a Censorship Bureau will be a bane to the medium and usually result in it not being taken seriously.

* The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the American government entity which effectively owns the TV and radio airwaves, and as such, it has a lot of say in what can be shown there. Although it can't file criminal charges, it can levy very large fines. It doesn't even ''publish'' a list of its standards--in this department, it makes its decisions on the basis of precedent through a quasi-judicial process[[note]]Please note that this method is entirely acceptable in American administrative law. Under the Administrative Procedure Act and the [[UsefulNotes/AmericanCourts Supreme Court]]'s jurisprudence, an administrative agency like the FCC is permitted to develop its law through the quasi-legislative process of administrative rulemaking or the quasi-judicial process of administrative adjudication. Adjudication is a ''lot'' less work than rulemaking, and also is more suited to fields where there are a lot of judgment calls and context-dependent issues and shades of gray. The FCC is not the only agency to operate this way; the biggest agency to rely on adjudicative processes is actually the National Labor Relations Board. Agencies don't have to do just one thing, either: the FCC uses rulemaking on other matters, like technical standards, licensing requirements for broadcasters, and unexpected stuff like 911 services, but decided to use adjudicative processes for decency standards because of the difficulty in developing clear rules.[[/note]]--so a lot of works rely on [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar guesswork]]. One of its most famous punishments was a $325,000 fine for Creator/JanetJackson flashing the audience at the 2004 UsefulNotes/SuperBowl; but the record is $1.2 million, for a Creator/{{FOX}} reality show called ''Married by America'' in which someone licked whipped cream off a woman's censored nipples. They've also been known to bend easily to the pressure of MoralGuardians. As ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' [[TakeThat puts it]]:

* The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the American government entity which effectively owns the TV and radio airwaves, and as such, it has a lot of say in what can be shown there. Although it can't file criminal charges, it can levy very large fines. It doesn't even ''publish'' a list of its standards--in this department, it makes its decisions on the basis of precedent through a quasi-judicial process[[note]]Please note that this method is entirely acceptable in American administrative law. Under the Administrative Procedure Act and the [[UsefulNotes/AmericanCourts Supreme Court]]'s jurisprudence, an administrative agency like the FCC is permitted to develop its law through the quasi-legislative process of administrative rulemaking or the quasi-judicial process of administrative adjudication. Adjudication is a ''lot'' less work than rulemaking, and also is more suited to fields where there are a lot of judgment calls and context-dependent issues and shades of gray. The FCC is not the only agency to operate this way; the biggest agency to rely on adjudicative processes is actually the National Labor Relations Board.[[/note]]--so a lot of works rely on [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar guesswork]]. One of its most famous punishments was a $325,000 fine for Creator/JanetJackson flashing the audience at the 2004 UsefulNotes/SuperBowl; but the record is $1.2 million, for a Creator/{{FOX}} reality show called ''Married by America'' in which someone licked whipped cream off a woman's censored nipples. They've also been known to bend easily to the pressure of MoralGuardians. As ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' [[TakeThat puts it]]:

* The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the American government entity which effectively owns the TV and radio airwaves, and as such, it has a lot of say in what can be shown there. Although it can't file criminal charges, it can levy very large fines. It doesn't even ''publish'' a list of its standards, so a lot of works rely on [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar guesswork]]. One of its most famous punishments was a $325,000 fine for Creator/JanetJackson flashing the audience at the 2004 UsefulNotes/SuperBowl; but the record is $1.2 million, for a Creator/{{FOX}} reality show called ''Married by America'' in which someone licked whipped cream off a woman's censored nipples. They've also been known to bend easily to the pressure of MoralGuardians. As ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' [[TakeThat puts it]]: