Bleeping the F-Word on TV, Does It Make A Difference?

A month ago, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overturned an FCC ruling against Fox for airing expletives that Cher said during the 2002 Billboard Music Awards. The court said that the FCC lacked clear criteria, as they allowed the f-word slide in the Bono's 2003 Golden Globe acceptance speech when he said "This is really, really, fucking brilliant. Really, really, great."

In response, the House passed a bill reaffirming the FCC's ability to regulate even fleeting f-words, especially since, as Ted Stevens (R, AK) said, "Radio and broadcast TV are still the way most Americans get their news and entertainment. And whether sitting in a car with your children or in front of the TV, the American public should be able to expect that they will not be barraged with unexpected indecency, whether it is through an image or a word."

What I find so amusing about this legislation is that kids are watching less TV and surfing the web more. A recent survey showed that 77% of teens could live without TV, compared with 23% who said the could live without the Internet. In addition, another study found that parents are actually watching more television than their kids!

So my real question is: in the rising age of YouTube and the Internet, does it really make a difference to bleep out fleeting f-words on TV?