Appeals Court Overturns CBS Indecency Fine

NEW YORK, July 21: A
federal appeals court today overturned the $550,000 fine levied against CBS
Corporation by the Federal Communications Commission for Janet Jackson’s
infamous “wardrobe malfunction” during the 2004 Super Bowl.

In a performance during
the half-time show with Justin Timberlake, Jackson inadvertently flashed a bare
breast. The FCC fined CBS $27,500 per station for the incident. Rejecting CBS’s
second appeal in 2006, the FCC stated: “The Super Bowl XXXVIII half-time show
contained material that was graphic, explicit, pandering, titillating and
shocking and, in context and on balance, was patently offensive under
contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium and thus indecent.”

Overturning the FCC order,
the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit said the regulatory
authority had acted “arbitrarily and capriciously.” It also ruled that CBS
could not be held accountable for the brief flash of nudity. “The FCC cannot
impose liability on CBS for the acts of Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake,
independent contractors hired for the limited purposes of the half-time show,”
wrote Chief Judge Anthony J. Scirica.

“We are gratified by the
court's decision, which we hope will lead the FCC to return to the policy of
restrained indecency enforcement,'' CBS said in a statement to Bloomberg News.
“This is an important win for the entire broadcasting industry because it
recognizes that there are rare instances, particularly during live programming,
when it may not be possible to block unfortunate fleeting material.”

—By Mansha Daswani